FBOs and Private Jet Travel: Ground Control

The subject of private jet travel, naturally, first brings to mind the air, not the earth. Those looking to minimize logistical compromises and maximize convenience with charter aviation are typically focused on when they’ll leave, how long they’ll be flying, what their flight will be like and when and where they’ll land (okay, and the price tag, too). The ground side of the equation is a minor factor at best.

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However, someone has to worry about what happens earthside. Planes need fuel to stay in the air, hangars to park in and regular maintenance and repair. Pilots and crew need places to rest and refuel. Ground transportation for travelers needs to be integrated into the airport's ongoing operations. Passengers may need places to relax and enjoy amenities. What happens in the skies is only part of the equation.

The entities that usually make all of this possible are fixed-base operators, or FBOs. While FBOs do operate at large commercial airports – usually in their own facilities separate from the main air travel terminals – they play a key role in “business” airports that primarily focus on charter flights and others not involving scheduled service. Given that there are roughly 4,500 business airports in the U.S., as compared with about 500 commercial counterparts, FBOs are a key element of private jet travel in North America (and beyond). If you’d like to know more about how this came to be and how FBOs can shape your travel experience, read on.

Barnstorming to Based

FBOs trace their origin to legislation almost a century old. After World War I concluded in 1918, the U.S. was left with surplus military aircraft that it proceeded to sell for pennies on the dollar. Many servicemen who had been trained on biplanes were able to afford to buy those same planes, and, for time, the U.S. aviation market became a free-for-all.

“Barnstormers” – including, among countless others, Charles Lindbergh – began using the planes to perform. The performers traveled from place to place offering demonstrations and rides, with mechanics and flight instructors moving along.

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Competition in the nascent aviation industry led to increasingly complex aerial maneuvers, some of which ended tragically. As a result, the U.S. government sought to regulate aviation with the passage of the Air Commerce Act in 1926, creating an Aeronautic Branch under the Department of Commerce that was charged with overseeing pilots, aircraft, airways and related matters. Transient pilots and mechanics had to settle down in order to meet requirements for licensing and maintenance, moving from being footloose to fixed-base – and thus evolving into what we now know as FBOs.

Link in the Chain

Today, while private jet travelers typically communicate with charter brokers and operators in regard to their travel wishes, FBOs are key in making those flights possible. “When everything goes well, the client sees the FBO for about 15 seconds,” says Andrew Ladouceur, COO of Charter Jet One. “But the services start with the FBO greeting people, making sure that their ground transportation is cleared and that they’re getting on the right plane. It’s very important.”

Private jet customers want a smooth travel experience in which all elements work together harmoniously. FBOs oversee everything from ground handling for planes (towing, parking, ground power units) to storage to cleaning (outside and inside) to de-icing, clearing away obstacles that can otherwise literally ground a trip. (And, while FBOs can’t control the weather, they can provide weather information and other data helpful in planning flights.)

Ladouceur has experienced both sides of the FBO/charter equation, previously working in charter sales and client services for FBO Meridian Air Charter. “People who run FBOs are always up for a challenge,” Ladouceur says. “The pilots have their hands full with all of the planning for the flight itself. The FBOs are handling everything else.”

As charter aviation professionals know all too well, different airports have different features and requirements, and aligning the priorities of the client with the realities on the ground may take some effort. FBOs are the linchpin in the chain of communication that allows for robust planning.

“FBOs will advise if they know certain runways will be closed or if operational hours are restricted due to construction. This helps us provide information to our customers when they are planning arrival and departure times,” says Marcela White, co-founder of charter operator Tavaero Jet Charter in Houston, Texas. “Some airports will require reservations, or ‘slots,’ to land and take off – meaning you can’t leave without that reservation. Oftentimes, the first time you hear about an existing reservation system at an airport is through the FBO.”

Lounging Around

Though private jet travel has many advantages over scheduled air travel, commercial airports do have an edge in terms of what can be provided on the ground due to their larger size and longer access to travelers. While private jet passengers usually can eschew the hours spent waiting in airports to which airline travelers must resign themselves, wait time isn’t totally eliminated as a factor – and pilots and crew for private jet flights have their own needs on the ground.

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FBOs ensure that business airports are more than just pit stops. They offer showers and sometimes even rooms in which pilots and crew members can doze. They can provide NOTAMs, aka Notice to Airmen, the aviation alert system that offers time-sensitive information about potential airspace hazards. They include workstations for flight planning and communications and much more.

“Like most passengers, I usually don’t spend a lot of time in the FBO. My needs are simple though: I look for really good coffee, a comfortable seat, the news on a monitor and clean, modern bathrooms,” says Janine Iannarelli, founder and president of international aircraft brokerage firm Par Avion Ltd. “Offering a secure environment that even the most high-profile of travelers can pass through is paramount.”

However, at times Iannarelli has needed more than just the basics. “The business of aviation is done at the airport, and many a meeting has taken place at FBOs. A well-equipped FBO will have a meeting room or private offices that passengers can make use of,” Iannarelli says. “If we need to close a sales transaction on the road, we make sure we use an FBO that can offer a private office, access to Wi-Fi and yes, sometimes a fax machine.”

And, over time, the environment FBOs provide has evolved in some locations into something more luxurious and/or distinctive. Private jet travelers to Aspen, Colorado can relax in front of a fireplace while a concierge secures ski passes. The Jetex terminal at the Paris Le Bourget Airport in France lets visitors enjoy sleek, modern surroundings with countless amenities. Farnborough Airport in the UK boasts “immersive lounge spaces” with “bespoke” services (and, occasionally, movie and TV shoots – look for it in “Inception” and “Quantum of Solace”).

“Perks can include frequent visitor benefits, such as trip points given in conjunction with branded fuel suppliers,” Iannarelli mentions. “Some FBOs offer thank-you gifts representing regional specialties, such as steaks from Omaha or maple syrup from Vermont.”

Coming Together, Moving Forward

The FBO world has been changing in other ways. As with many other industries in the 21st century, FBOs are undergoing consolidation, with a field that was built on small, often family-run businesses transforming into one that is more corporate and less fragmented. As one of many examples, Miami-based private equity firm Tallvine Partners purchased three FBO locations in Michigan, Florida and Georgia from Odyssey Aviation in January 2025 to “form a nucleus of a larger FBO platform.”

Ladouceur’s former employer, Meridian, was rolled up into Signature Aviation, the world’s largest FBO chain, in 2024. “Before, it felt as though the FBO business model was that you provide a really good service and hope you’ll sell some fuel. You make a place that the pilots love to come to and where the passengers get what they need,” Ladouceur says. “With these big finance companies taking ownership, it’s changed.”

One change mentioned by both Ladouceur and White is the growth in special event fees that can range from a few hundred dollars to five figures. With more and more travelers seeking to fly private to everything from college football games to Formula One races to the Super Bowl, demand is high for landing space at nearby business airports at specific times, and FBOs frequently charge extra fees over and above the norm for those looking to use their services then.

The complication, Ladouceur says, is that sometimes the fees aren’t communicated until relatively late in the process. “In the charter business, you often plan it out weeks in advance, including price,” he says. “If you find out later on there’s going to be a fee, you have to go back to the client, and we’ve seen some pushback on that.” In the U.S., he adds, travelers often have the option of using an “outlier” airport that may be 20-30 minutes further out, where fees are less likely.

 On a more welcome note, some FBOs are also experimenting with innovations such as eco-friendly improvements. Iannarelli notes the Heritage Aviation FBO at Burlington International Airport in Vermont, managed as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) operation, as one example. “Their facility is not just a comfortable and modern space, but also offers energy-saving features including a solar system/ photo-voltaic electrical system generating output, a wind turbine system and a ‘green’ roof,” she says. “This coming winter season, they will bring the newest technology in de-icing trucks to their fleet. Heritage really takes personal service and all hands-on deck to the next level given the vested interest employees have in running a successful business.”

More Than Planes

However the FBO industry evolves, creativity and flexibility will remain key to success. Private jet travelers can include all sorts – some with needs that go beyond flight. Ladouceur remembers a time during the 2008 Presidential primaries when a certain candidate requested space for a press conference at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, one of the busiest business air hubs in the U.S.

“At the time, the candidate was flying in and out of Teterboro. We had a big room in our facility, so we could accommodate a press conference,” Ladouceur recalls. “I remember all of the cables running out to satellite trucks. The Secret Service had to come to sweep everything.”

The candidate in question? Barack Obama. He was accompanied by then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Jersey City Mayor Jerry Healy, who endorsed then-Senator Obama for the Democratic nomination during the May 2007 event. Apparently, the multi-tasking didn’t hurt any of them with voters – Booker is now the senior U.S. Senator from New Jersey, while Obama was successful in his quest for the nomination and the general election (twice).

“FBOs are an important link in the chain for private jet travel,” Ladouceur says. “You want to let people remember why they’re paying the money to fly private. When you run an FBO, it’s up to you to figure things out.”