FBOs around the world

TAG Farnborough Airport in the UK has become the first business aviation airport to be accredited carbon neutral status. “TAG Farnborough Airport is committed to responsible and sustainable development through comprehensive management of our environmental impact,” said Miles Thomas, Environment Manager TAG Farnborough Airport. “Whilst carbon neutrality is without a doubt an important milestone in our carbon reduction efforts, our work in this field by no means ends here and we will continue to identify new and innovative ways to improve our sustainable credentials.”

Sam Chui tries out 'the world's most luxurious VIP terminal'.

New FBO coming to Kona at the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport When completed it would be the third FBO at the airport. The Kona Jet Center is expected to be completed by the end of 2019 and join Air Service Hawaii and Signature Flight Support. The new facilities will include a new 7,000 sq ft passenger terminal, two hangars that can host long-range business jets, a fuel farm with 50,000 gal capacity. Additionally lounges and conference rooms will also be available along with property-wide Wi-Fi.

A new hangar has been added to Hawthorne Global Aviation Services at the Chicagoland FBO. The new near 33,000 sq ft heated hangar will debut next month and is large enough to house long-range business jet aircraft. Word is that the hangar is already 70-percent leased and can accommodate up to the new Global 7500 jets. Along with the hangar, office space was added as part of the facilities. The hangar is reported to cost around 6 million dollars.

Another new hangar is under construction and it is in Pennsylvania at the Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE). The massive heated 54,000 sq ft hangar will be completed by next Summer and cost around 16.3 million dollars. FBO Lehigh Valley Aviation Services will manage the new hangar once it is completed.

Planning to head to Bahrain? That country is planning on opening a new General Aviation Terminal at the Bahrain International Airport. They idea is to renovate the original Civil Aviation Affairs (CAA) building. "The project is part of the Ministry’s plan to offer services to private jet owners through BIA, especially in light of the sector’s impressive growth rate in the Middle East," said Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications and Gulf Air Group Holding chairman Kamal Mohammed. "It is also part of a comprehensive strategy to enhance the infrastructure of BIA and one of the main components of the airport modernization program, which is expected to be finished by [the third quarter of] 2019."

A new facility has opened up. This one is a new general aviation terminal in Singapore at the Seletar Business Aviation Center. Last night (Singapore time) they made the switch from the facility on West Camp Road to the new terminal on Seletar Aerospace Road, which will become operational just after midnight local time. The 80-million dollar facility is state-of-the-art and will process upwards of 700,000 passengers a year. It also frees up vital space at Changi Airport. Exterior photo by Kua Chee Siong

Signature Unveils a new FBO at Nashville Airport. The 15-million dollar facility came online earlier this month and boasts a 8,000 square foot terminal, a 25,000 square foot hangar which now totals to 138,000 sq ft of aircraft storage space. They plan to build another hangar there in the future as well. "The new Signature Nashville is one of our shining stars in our global network," said COO Tony Lefebvre, adding that he believes customers will enjoy the new facility and the staff’s hospitality. "Nashville’s economy is booming, and population growth continues to soar."

Jet Aviation has completed the refurbishment of its new Boston/Bedford FBO with a contemporary 'cozy chic' style designed to be comfortable and attractive for customers - and is delivering even more customer service by housing a new Duncan Aviation satellite avionics shop in a hangar. "Our focus on customer service means not only a new style and comfort for customers in the FBO, but also adding a valuable new service by locating a new Duncan Aviation satellite avionics shop in our hangar," said Pam Day, director of FBO Services at Boston/Bedford.

"In the FBO, we’ve applied a new, warmer color scheme and some new wall coverings, in addition to replacing all of the temporary furnishings, décor and design elements that were here when we opened the new FBO last year. We changed the feel and the experience of the FBO. It’s more modern, but still cozy and comfortable. And some of the accents pieces are kind of funky and that’s a fun touch. We call it ‘cozy chic,’ and we’re inviting all of our customers to come in and enjoy the new look."

JetEx's relatively new FBO terminal at Dubai South has been doing pretty decently since opening in 2017. The terminal is a nice and comfortable space for passengers arriving and departing. "We expect movement growth of around 3-to-5 percent this year for both (Dubai) airports," said Jetex President-CEO, Adel Mardini.

Jet Linx, a private aviation company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, with 17 locally-operated Base locations nationwide, announced the debut of its newly reimagined Houston Base at Hobby Airport. Jet Linx Houston now encompasses 58,000 square feet of space, a 77 percent increase from the Base’s initial size, which includes a well-appointed private lounge, conference room and aircraft hangar. The launch of the new, member-only Jet Linx Houston terminal follows the April 2018 ‘wet microburst’ at Hobby Airport, which produced winds of over 80 miles per hour according to the National Weather Service and caused damage to the hangar. Following the microburst, Jet Linx Houston continued its operations without delay or interruption.

“We now have a new location with a bigger private terminal, bigger hangar and better location to serve our clients,” said Jamie Walker, President and CEO of Jet Linx. “The secret to our success is the resilience of our dedicated local team and we will continue our unwavering commitment to delivering the most personalized private aviation experience.”

New FBO starts build in Florida

JetScape Services recently started construction on a new facility at the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport. When completed it will house a 25,000 sq ft passenger terminal and two 40,000 sq ft hangar facilities. It is all estimated to cost around 20 million (or more) dollars. The new facility is expected for completion on Summer of 2020. "Over the last 16 years, we have outgrown our original leasehold,"said Jetscape president Troy Menken. "With the purchase of Victory Aviation’s facility last year and this new 25-acre project, we will be able to accommodate all of Jetscape Services’ customers." Below is an artist render of how it should appear on completion.

Lynx adds facility in Florida.

After purchasing Word Jet at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), this is now the second FBO location in Florida for Lynx and the seventh overall in the U.S. Lynx plans to fully refurbish the location in the future but as it presently stands, it caters to customers with 350,000 sq foot hangar facilities, pilot lounge, snooze room and even car rental.

With the Superbowl being held at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta over the past weekend, throngs of executive aircraft landed at various airports and FBOs in the state. Some saw up to 140 jets and others above 120.

Jet Aviation acquired full ownership of the San Juan FBO at Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico, a provider of premium business aviation services at one of the most convenient U.S. points of entry for international flights. Jet Aviation has been operating the San Juan FBO under a management agreement with the previous owner, Pazos, since March 2017, when the FBO was rebranded as Jet Aviation.

“Bringing the San Juan FBO completely under Jet Aviation management reinforces our commitment to our customers, our employees and the region,” said David Paddock, senior vice president and general manager, Jet Aviation Regional Operations USA. “Our goal is to deliver business aviation services as close to demand as possible, while ensuring consistency across our growing global network. Jet Aviation operates 10 FBOs in the U.S. and Caribbean. San Juan is a high-performing FBO with excellent long-term growth prospects and we are delighted to fully bring it into our fold.”

New FBO debuts for Million Air at New York’s Westchester County Airport.

Earlier this year Signature Flight Support Italy became the first in the region to be IS-BAH certified.

Signature Flight Support’s locations in Italy are the first in the region to earn The International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) certification, the industry leading accreditation and global standard for best business aviation safety practices. Milan-Linate (LIN), Milan-Malpensa (MXP), Rome Ciampino (CIA) and Venice (VCE) all passed the highly stringent, week-long safety management audit following an external assessment by a team of IBAC-accredited (International Business Aviation Council) auditors.

“We are proud to announce that we have accomplished the first IS-BAH certification within Italy, and we look forward to bringing more of our European locations through the accreditation process" said Evie Freeman, Managing Director, Signature Flight Support - EMEA. "Safety is our core value and lived by every one of our employees. The audits took several days to complete, but several months of preparation had taken place before that by our dedicated safety team and the FBO management team for each site."

New MetroJet facility coming to the Philippines.

“This development represents the largest investment made by Metrojet in its 21-year history, demonstrating our commitment to the development of business aviation in the Philippines. With this Clark facility, we at Metrojet are strengthening our footprint in Southeast Asia. The growing strategic importance of Clark with its freedom of operations and freeport zone enables us to provide our clients with a high quality and very competitive hangar parking and maintenance facility in the region, especially with locations such as Hong Kong and Singapore becoming increasingly expensive and having capacity constraints” commented Mr. Bruce Watson, chief operating officer of Metrojet Limited.

A 40,000 sq ft hangar is now completed in the Dallas area. The facility is located at the Dallas-area McKinney National Airport. It is wide enough that it can comfortably house four Gulfstream G550s or equivalent size aircraft. "Everything you can measure at the airport is trending up, from operations to fuel sales," said airport director Ken Carley. "The public-private partnership with Western LLC allowed the city to capitalize on their expertise and reputation as a well-respected developer in the aviation industry, while helping us meet the demands of new businesses pouring into Collin County and the larger Dallas area."

Gainsville FL will have a new FBO coming next year. It is going to be located at Florida's Keystone Heights Airport and besides being a small FBO it will host the airport's administrative arm. It is all part of a 1.2 million dollar rehab project and the new terminal will replace a 1970s era terminal that housed approximately 1500 sq ft of space. The new 3,684-sq ft building will have a pilot lounge, flight planning area, snooze room, shower facilities, and 30-seat conference room. The design of the building will more look like house.