Consolidation, private equity ownership, and the future of fixed base operators.
By Shannon Forrest
Contributing Writer
Those pilots who have been flying for a couple of decades or more remember the FBOs of yesteryear. In the mid‑1990s there were approximately 5000 FBOs in the US, and more than 80% were independently owned and operated. They were affectionately called “mom‑and‑pop” businesses. Almost all of them started as flight schools or maintenance facilities that were owned by pilots or mechanics.
Million Air HOU
Independent FBOs of the past usually had only 1 or 2 locations, and hence there was no need for fancy branding or universal appeal. Typically, the business just used the owner’s last name and added the word “Aviation” after it.
One example is Priester Aviation, which began in 1953 at PWK (Exec, Chicago IL). Priester started as a flight school that evolved into providing fuel, charter, hangar facilities, and maintenance to transient aircraft. PWK’s proximity to Chicago makes it a reliever airport, and it is a popular destination for business and general aviation pilots.
Whether you arrived in a Learjet from ASE (Aspen CO) or a beat‑up old Cessna Skymaster from AZO (Kalamazoo MI) did not matter. Everyone was treated the same. It was pilots serving pilots. CSRs served as ad‑hoc members of the local chamber of commerce and could tell you where to go for the best barbecue or steak dinner. Bob Chinn’s Crab House – still to this day one of the highest-grossing independent restaurants in the US – was less than 5 minutes up the road from Priester, and the line crew were happy to drop you off and pick you back up.
The first chains and their fate
Signature Aviation HPN
An “FBO chain” in the early 1990s meant fewer than a dozen locations – not the empires seen today. Also, FBOs with more than one location tended to be regional, meaning in adjacent states, rather than separated by thousands of miles.
Because fuel prices were competitively similar when 2 FBOs existed at the same airport, each might have a long‑standing promotion or gimmick to draw in pilots. Flower Aviation SLN (Salina KS) had the “Flower Girls” to marshal in the aircraft, the “ten‑minute turn,” and awarded pilots steaks as a function of how much fuel they bought. Popcorn and cookies were a given, with chili dogs and ice cream as a bonus.
Fast forward to today. Those FBOs no longer exist, or the owners have moved on from the FBO business. Combs, for example, was acquired by AMR – the parent company of American Airlines, which rebranded it as AMR‑Combs. In July 1998, Piedmont merged with Hawthorne Aviation, creating a conglomerate of 21 FBOs in the eastern US.
In 1999, Signature bought the 11 AMR locations for $170 million. In 2001, Priester Aviation also sold its FBO operations to Signature, although Priester remains in the business of aircraft management and charter operations. Flower Aviation closed its 2 locations in 2014, with the SLN facility being taken over by Avflight.
Today’s landscape
Today, there are approximately 3300 FBOs in the US. Chain FBOs make up 12% of the total, and independents – typically single‑location operators – come in around 45%. The remaining 43% are owned by local government entities or universities that support flight training programs. Local entities can include the city itself, like non‑towered XBP (Bridgeport TX) or an airport authority that owns and operates an FBO as a revenue stream, like Meridian Aviation MEI (Meridian MS).
Atlantic Aviation DAL
The 3 largest FBO chains in the US are Signature Aviation (200-plus locations worldwide), Atlantic Aviation (100-plus facilities across North America), and Million Air (37 locations). According to the statistics, independent FBOs are declining. At smaller municipal non‑towered airports, the vacancy is likely to be filled by the local government.
Independent FBOs at Class B and C airports that cease operations or desire to sell are potential targets of acquisition by the mega‑chains.
Those brands tend to always be found at airports that serve the airlines in addition to corporate traffic, but Million Air is an exception. For instance, there is no airline service to RME (Rome NY), yet there is a Million Air at this relatively quiet Class D airport.
Mega‑chains vs independents
Whether a mega‑chain FBO is good or bad compared to an independent operator is a matter of perspective. Many of us flight instructors who came up in the independent FBO era always chided our students to buy “courtesy fuel” when landing and using the facilities away from home base – and to throw a buck in the old Folgers jar if you drank the coffee. Granted, 11 gallons of 100LL in a Cessna 172 won’t move the accounting needle much, but it was the gesture that counted.
Even if one did not buy fuel, the independent FBOs of the past did not typically charge a pilot for a brief stay on the ramp if services were not required.
That changed when the mega‑FBOs took over. To improve profits, ramp and facility fees became common, no matter the size of the aircraft. To be fair, those fees were reduced or waived with fuel purchases, but the number of gallons required – and at a significant upcharge from the home airport – made it unrealistic for piston single‑engine pilots.
It is a gut punch to buy 100LL at $9 a gallon. To the “little guy,” this came across as, “We’d rather have a Challenger 604 here than a Bonanza, so pay your $35 to use the bathroom or move along.”
A big complaint was that pilots thought FBOs were trying to obfuscate the fees and charged different fees on different days. This matters whether you fly a Grumman Tiger or a Dassault Falcon 900. As a fix – andwith a big push from AOPA – Signature switched to a transparent pricing model that can be obtained on their website. A pilot can select the day, type of aircraft, and service required (even if just to use the restroom) and see exactly what the charges will be.
Service quality
A significant percentage of corporate and airline pilots are aircraft owners, or participate in general aviation in other ways, and this fact allows a glimpse into whether the level of service at mega‐chain FBOs varies based on the type of aircraft. While the “work airplane” may be a Gulfstream, the weekend airframe may be a Cessna Cardinal RG or Twin Comanche.
In a prior interview with Professional Pilot magazine, Allison Woolsey-Smith, Million Air chief brand officer and a pilot herself, emphasized that general aviation aircraft are always welcome at Million Air, and that the teammates there provide the same impeccable service, irrespective of aircraft type. One thing that seems to be consistent among the mega‑chains is training and customer service.
Texas Jet FTW
A recent personal visit to Freeman Jet Center ACT (Regional, Waco TX) in a Piper Lance was met instantly with a marshaller. Two line personnel met the aircraft and asked about services required, and the plane was chocked quickly.
The service was impeccable. Nonetheless, being on the completely empty ramp of the only FBO on the airport for less than 10 minutes to file a flight plan and use the restroom garnered a $36 facility fee. Could that be considered excessive for a single‑engine airplane with an MTOW of 3600 lb? Perhaps.
On the other hand, a visit to an independent FBO at RVS (Riverside, Tulsa OK) a couple of months prior in the same aircraft meant dodging a ramp full of abandoned chocks to guess which spot to park in. To get fuel meant having to interrupt the 2 people working the flightline who seemed comfortable with their feet up on their employer’s desk and so engaged in a social conversation with the customer service rep that they were ignoring customers.
It turns out there is a cost for good customer service, and the mega‑chain FBOs do it well. As does Texas Jet FTW (Meacham, Fort Worth TX) – an independent FBO that is consistently ranked as the best independent FBO by Pro Pilot readers in the PRASE Survey. The ramp seems consistently high‑paced and the lobby is always crowded, yet there is always a crew to direct and park the aircraft, chock it, toss out a red carpet, and put cones around the aircraft, whether it be a Falcon, King Air, Citation, or Piper Lance.
The business case for FBOs
What is certain is that FBOs are a good business model, and by 2030 the FBO market is expected to exceed $40 billion. Owning an FBO means predictable and steady cash flow as business aviation continues to grow, especially in a post‑COVID environment. Since 2009, business jet departures have grown 3.3%. Nearly every aircraft that passes through an FBO needs fuel.
Just one FBO on an airport has a monopoly, and pilots who want to land there have no other choice, which makes it a captive market. To an FBO, fuel represents between 50 and 70% of revenue, so the push is to sell as much as possible. To entice pilots to add more, providers have engaged in extensive marketing and rewards programs. Hangar leases, aircraft parking fees, and service fees make up the bulk of the remaining income sources. Established FBOs in mature markets can achieve 20–30% operating margins.
Private equity enters the cockpit
Even large flight departments have a budget. Traditionally, competition has been the answer: if you do not like it, go somewhere else. With continued consolidation, this might not be possible in the future. This, along with consolidation opportunities across multiple airports, means that FBOs have attracted the attention of private equity investor ownership.
Galaxy FBO CXO
The Signature chain is owned by a consortium of private equity firms that include Blackstone and Global Infrastructure Partners.
Prior to 2026, Atlantic Aviation was owned by the global investment firm KKR, but this year it finalized a deal to sell a majority stake to Apollo Global Management.
In 2023, Apollo – in conjunction with Tiger Infrastructure Partners – purchased Modern Aviation. Galaxy FBO CXO (Conroe TX) – also a favorite of PP readers – was purchased by Black Forest Ventures (a privately-held asset management firm) in 2012.
Prior to the transfer of ownership, it was established and run as a single FBO by a husband‑and‑wife team.
It is a common story for independent FBOs. The second generation has no desire to continue the business, or the current owners are interested in retirement and as a result decide to sell. The intensive cost of capital to establish or run an FBO – which can include extensive requirements imposed by the airport – is a boon for private equity firms. They have the money to finance the cost of entry. In the future, the industry is almost certain to see more consolidation and acquisition by private equity. Bucking this trend, Million Air remains privately held and contends there is no desire to sell the chain to private equity firms.
What this means for pilots
APP Jet Center APA
What do massive consolidation of the FBO industry and mega‑chains run by private equity mean for pilots? That is the question. Private equity is beholden to profits, and that coincides with ramp and facility fees just for rolling across a ramp. Everything is a commodity.
A pilot buying fuel or servicing a lav at APP Jet Center APA (Centennial, Denver CO) probably does not realize the FBO is owned by Bain Capital. And maybe he doesn’t care because he has the company credit card.
But, as consolidation continues and private equity broadens its footprint, the question for every pilot – whether flying a Bonanza or a Gulfstream – will be whether choice, transparency, and pilot‑friendly service can survive alongside the relentless drive for quarterly returns.
Shannon Forrest is a current line pilot, CRM facilitator, and aviation safety consultant. He has more than 15,000 hrs TT and holds a degree in behavioral psychology.
