Costco Wholesale flies vacant Ranch to Montana as warehouse fight looms

Costco Wholesale flew a Gulfstream G280 (N82CW) from Rainbow Ranch Airport in Idaho to Billings Logan International Airport on Thursday, a 36-minute hop covering roughly 320 miles. The flight touched down at 11:10 a.m. local time, the final segment of a busy week for the company’s four-aircraft fleet.

The same week, a zoning hearing for a proposed Costco Wholesale store in the Billings Heights area is scheduled before the Yellowstone County Planning Board, per the Billings Gazette on Tuesday. The hearing will decide the annexation and land-use request for a 16-acre parcel near Main Street and Interstate 90. A Costco Wholesale location has been a subject of local debate since retailer representatives first scouted the site in early 2026.

Costco Wholesale’s recent flight pattern shows a cluster of short hops across the western U.S. earlier this week, including trips between Vermont, New Hampshire, and Idaho, before the executive jet settled in Montana. CEO Ron Vachris has maintained the company’s flat management structure, which sometimes puts senior team members directly in meetings with local officials and zoning boards.