From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

AT&T dismantles BellSouth's corporate air operation

By SCOTT LEITH

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 05/18/07

For the right price, one of the most notorious corporate aviation complexes ever built can be yours.

Just save plenty of money for the fancy planes to fill it.

FOR SALE

Seven planes were registered with BellSouth or Cingular. Duncan Aviation of Lincoln, Neb., has three of them listed for sale.

* A seven-passenger Cessna Citation Excel jet, built in 2000

* A 12-seat Falcon 900B jet, built in 1987

* A 31-seat Dornier 328-100 turboprop, built in 1997.

The prop plane was used to haul BellSouth employees between Atlanta and Birmingham. The unusual commuter service was discontinued in December.

AT&T is pondering the sale of a huge facility that, since late 1993, has housed BellSouth's aircraft at Fulton County Airport-Brown Field. Three former BellSouth or Cingular Wireless planes are on the market as well, including a 31-seat turboprop that for years was used to ferry BellSouth workers between Atlanta and Birmingham.

Among those in aviation circles, BellSouth's facility is well-known, both for its grand size and for its colorful history. The hangar and attached offices were built in 1989 by the old RJR Nabisco. Executive F. Ross Johnson, who moved RJR Nabisco's headquarters to Atlanta, used Fulton County Airport to house what became known as his "RJR air force."

In the flashy days of the late 1980s, the fleet included 10 planes and a staff of 36 pilots. Among other things, the facility had a Japanese garden, walk-in wine cooler and expensive art. A book about the creation of RJR Nabisco, "Barbarians at the Gate," called the facility the "Taj Mahal of corporate hangars."

BellSouth bought the complex after RJR Nabisco's departure, and most of the most luxurious trappings are long gone. Nonetheless, San Antonio-based AT&T is secretive about the facility. The company declined to provide access, and just getting a glimpse at the exterior is difficult, given that it sits at the end of a gated road and is surrounded by trees.

Bill Marks, an AT&T spokesman, said the complex is "modest, in terms of decor and furnishings."

That may be so, at least in comparison to the flush days of RJR Nabisco. But Pat Epps, president of Epps Aviation in Atlanta, said the facility still ranks among the nicest corporate aviation centers in the Southeast.

AT&T is busy looking for ways to wring out costs in the wake of its December buyout of BellSouth. AT&T already has a big corporate aviation fleet, plus the facilities to go with it.

Some BellSouth and Cingular planes have been added to AT&T's operations, Marks said, and pilots for the companies were offered jobs. "Some accepted," Marks said, but declined to say where the available positions are based.

AT&T won't say for sure whether BellSouth's aviation complex is official on the market. AT&T, Marks said, is "exploring the possibility" of selling.

Don't expect to see an ad in the paper. Fulton County Airport manager Doug Barrett said such properties tend to change hands quietly. Though the facility sits on airport land, it carries a lease that can be sold.

Barrett might not even hear about a sale until after a deal is done. "Companies come and go," he said.

The pool of potential buyers also should be limited. BellSouth bought the old RJR Nabisco facility because the phone company had outgrown its former digs at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport.

A big company with similar needs might be a suitor today, or a business that specializes in aviation — such as aircraft services or charter flights. There's a company of that sort at Fulton County Airport, Hill Aircraft & Leasing, near the old BellSouth facility. Company CEO Guy Hill Jr. didn't return calls seeking comment.

Marks declined to discuss what price AT&T might seek. The complex was most recently appraised at nearly $4 million, according to Fulton County records.