FBO Operations Tip of the Week: Differentiate Your FBO on Customer Service, Not on Price

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group
- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

 

Many FBOs have gone out of business by lowering their prices during prolonged periods of time. Yes, FBOs need to be price-competitive, but they must maintain healthy margins and find other ways to compete through differentiation.

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David Schuster Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

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Meridian, the full-service private aviation company based in Teterboro, NJ, is proud to announce that David Schuster has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Teterboro Chapter of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA). Schuster is a Quality Assurance Inspector with Meridian Jet Center, the company’s aircraft maintenance business.  He joins a short list of distinguished recipients who have received this honor.
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Geneva Airpark Welcomes Winter Clients

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Based on the success of these past months, the Geneva Airpark team is more than ever ready to welcome its clients for a 5th winter at Geneva International Airport (LSGG). In order to deal with the growing demand to shelter business jets, Geneva Airpark is offering a global solution for business aviation, with daily, week-end or long term hosting possibilities, along with new additions to the range of made-to-measure services, which are more and more appreciated by the clients.
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Shell Aviation Becomes Sole Fuel Operator at Lille Airport (LFQQ) in France

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Shell Aviation started operations at Lille Airport, France, (LFQQ) strengthening its European network with its appointment as the airport’s sole fuel operator. Shell Aviation was awarded the 10 year contract in September 2014 to operate the fuel storage facilities and into-plane services at the airport through its subsidiary, Avitair. In addition to Lille, one of France’s busiest airports, Shell Aviation currently operates in eight airports in the country.
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Asian Aircraft Finance Market: New Local Players to Support Region’s Growing Fleet

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When addressing the Legislative Council on the 13th of January, 2015 the Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying revealed the government’s intentions to turn the city into a major aviation finance hub capable of competing with the likes of Ireland and Singapore. The upcoming changes in Hong Kong’s tax legislation and financial system serve as yet another clear signal that the Asia Pacific region is getting ready to grab the largest piece of the lucrative aviation finance pie.
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FBO Operations Tip of the Week: Cross Train and Involve all Employees in the Customer Experience

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group
- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

 

For most FBOs, employees must learn to multitask. In evaluating FBOs that are consistently successful, we find employees do many different job functions that result in not only a more efficient operation but it actually helps employee morale and adds to the customer service experience. As we like to say, a happy employee, a happy customer.

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FBO Operations Tip of the Week: Maximize Your Profit Position

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group
- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

 

As FBO operators and managers, one of the most important tasks to keep in mind is maximizing your profit position.

In order to accomplish this, we rely on a standardized fuel pricing method. We think it is fair to say most FBOs use either cost-plus pricing or mark-up pricing. Cost-plus means you want to make a certain “plus” above your cost. For example, your cost today is approximately $2.25 per gallon and you want to make $1.50 per gallon. Therefore, simple math puts the selling price at $3.75 resulting in a profit of 40 percent  on sales. 

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Voyager Jet Center (KAGC), Pittsburgh’s Newest Hangar Available Spring 2015

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Avfuel branded dealer, Voyager Jet Center located at Allegheny County Airport, expects construction of a new 18,000-sq-ft hangar to be completed during spring 2015. Already known as the primary FAA-designated reliever airport for Pittsburgh International Airport, Voyager looks forward to providing world-class hangar space to future tenants, while continuing to support high volumes of corporate traffic. The new eco-friendly hangar will feature skylights for natural lighting, LED lighting, advanced fire suppression and direct access to the FBO. Expect amenities such as passenger waiting areas, private pilot lounge and sleep rooms, ramp-accessible WiFi and ramp-side car service.
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FBO Operations Tip of the Week: With Fuel Prices Falling, Guard Your Optimism

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group
- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

 
As the price of auto gas falls almost daily, we wonder how the corresponding drop in Jet A fuel might affect the FBO business.

Just four weeks ago, OPEC indicated they would stabilize a barrel of oil at $60. Currently, a barrel of oil is hovering around $54. Comparatively, at the beginning of 2014, index pricing for Jet A was around $3 per gallon. In December we saw roughly $1.60 per gallon resulting in a $1.40 swing. 

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