In January 2023, DC Aviation G-OPS will be opening a brand new FBO at Nice Airport (LFMN). The new FBO is committed to delivering a complete range of VIP handling services backed by the dedication, professionalism, and experience of the DC Aviation G-OPS team.
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FBO operators, managers and supervisors often find themselves dealing on a daily basis with situations that need immediate attention. These are the bugs and gnats that creep into our schedule unannounced and take away from quality time needed for planning, preparation and, quite frankly, sharpening the axe.
Recently we were approached by Charlie Bodnar, the CEO of Euro Jet, to see if we might be interested in teaching our Don’t Forget the Cheese!© FBO customer service training program at their Global Network Forum scheduled for January in Prague, Czech Republic. Euro Jet is a leading international provider of both flight and ground support services.
Originally Published on Thursday, March 24, 2011.
“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900
Friedrich Nietzsche, a controversial philosopher for his time, made this statement before the Wright Brothers even flew, so we may assume he was not referring to the business of training people to fly. However, this quote has much relevance to our FBO flight training activities today.
This week at the NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers (S&D) Convention in San Jose, CA, we will release the results of our Annual FBO Industry Survey and Forecast for 2015.
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.
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.
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.
We would like to welcome B&CA Digest readers to our blog, FBO Connection. Since our first blog post in 2011, the FBO Connection has been a source for discussion, ideas and general conversation on the FBO industry where you’ll find regular contributions from seasoned FBO professionals sprinkled with bits of wisdom and peppered occasionally with some hot topics. We like to call it “Sage Advice for the FBO Community.”
Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.
Best Practice #9: Charge for the free stuff. This is a simple reminder that every customer must contribute to your revenue stream, even the reluctant customer who doesn’t buy fuel.
Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.
Best Practice #8: Planning, budgeting and sales forecasting. It’s not exciting; it’s not fun; but it’s essential to running a successful FBO operation.
Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.
Best Practice #7: Find the free money! From fuel hedging to lowering your credit card interest rates, there’s free money in any FBO operation just waiting to be found.
Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.
Best Practice #6: Make the customer your fan by building a team environment designed to differentiate your service from the competition.
Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.
Best Practice #5: Your lease is your leverage and the cornerstone of your enterprise. Don’t wait until your lease is ready to expire to develop favorable terms.
We’re often asked at our NATA FBO Success Seminars, “When is a good time to negotiate a new lease with the airport?” Having worked with many FBOs in restructuring their leases, we can say unequivocally the answer is simple: anytime.
Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.
Best Practice #4: Empower your employees at the point of transaction in order to diffuse conflict and build long-term profitable customer relationships.
Factoid: Up to 95 percent of dissatisfied customers will return if you handle disputes in a timely and satisfactory manner.
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