Hawkins’ expertise in financing airports is exceptional in terms of dollar volume, number of projects, and the national geographic footprint. The firm has served as bond counsel, underwriters’ counsel and special counsel in the development and structuring of financings for runways; terminals; cargo and CONRAC facilities; and airport flight-kitchen and maintenance projects.
Many of our airport client relationships are very long-standing. As bond counsel, we helped legislatively establish of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority and worked on financing the construction of a new regional airport. We continued to work with the Authority through two airport expansions, refundings, and direct bank placements.
The firm has also served as bond counsel to the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority since the 1980s, restructuring its debt to provide more flexibility and negotiating changes and improvements to the Authority’s airline agreements. We also worked on financings for the construction of a new terminal, terminal renovations, new runways, and a runway expansion and noise abatement program through the issuance of fixed and variable rate debt and private activity bonds.
Hawkins’ attorneys have an in-depth knowledge of airport financing issues which is unsurpassed in the industry. We have successfully developed structures and methods for financing airports on both a private activity bond and governmental bond basis, assisting issuers in maximizing their non-AMT governmental bond financings. The firm has worked on all aspects of airport financing, including airport system and single airport revenue bonds as well as airport special facility financings, bond refundings, variable and fixed rate airport securities, derivative products financings, double-barrel financings, letter of intent proceeds and general obligation bonds. Our transportation project team has extensive experience in developing and negotiating airline lease, concession and related agreements.
We are familiar with all of the key aspects of governmental airport financings, such as passenger facility charges, Part 150 programs and grant applications and their requirements. In particular, Hawkins was an active participant in the promulgation of the passenger facility charge (PFC) regulation, and worked with ACI-NA in the submission of extensive comments to the FAA.
The following is a representative list of the firm’s recurring bond counsel and underwriters’ counsel engagements in the airport sector:
- Los Angeles Department of Airports
- Manchester City, New Hampshire
- Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority
- Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority
- San Francisco City and County Airport Commission
- Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust
