FBO Survey Winners Announced

For the FBO industry, aircraft movements are its lifeblood, and 2024 proved to be a stable year for business aviation. While the 3,630,600 business jet and turboprop departures in the U.S. were just a percentage point off from the previous year, they were still 23% above pre-pandemic totals, according to data from industry data analyst WingX Advance.

For Europe, departures were down less than 1% from 2023 and still nearly seven points above 2019 numbers. In the Caribbean region, however, business was booming: activity was up by 9.4% last year.

In terms of industry consolidation, while the number of FBO transactions was down from the dizzying heights of recent years, it remains a seller’s market. “While the industry has largely moved on from the record-breaking acquisitions of the two largest chains by private equity in 2021, these transactions captured the imagination of many FBO owners considering selling the past few years,” said Douglas Wilson, president and senior partner of industry consultancy FBO Partners.

“Those sellers adjusted their valuation expectations accordingly, yet unscientifically.” Those inflated asking prices, higher interest rates, and decreased inventory of highly attractive top-tier locations could all serve to cool down what had been a busy FBO consolidation market. “Adding to the transactional malaise is an unusually large pool of would-be aggregators,” Wilson said.

Over the past few years, players such as Lynx FBO and Ross Aviation were absorbed by Atlantic Aviation, while Tac Air was acquired by Signature Aviation. However, others such as Modern Aviation, Skyservice, AeroCenters, a revamped Odyssey Aviation, and newcomers to the market remain to take their place in the FBO acquisition ecosystem.

While Wilson expects a relatively robust mergers and acquisitions market for 2025, he cautions that unpredictable volatility from Washington could have far-reaching effects. “The potential loss of thousands of government employees who regulate the industry will slow transactions.”

One major development in the U.S. FBO industry this past year was in the geographic expansion of the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply. While SAF availability had been limited to the West Coast, a series of announcements from producers such as Neste and distributors such as World Fuel Services and Avfuel last year saw it flow steadily eastward as new distribution terminals were established.

With that backdrop, Business Jet Traveler sister publication Aviation International News tasked its readers to rate the FBOs they frequent in five categories. To reach the top rungs of facilities worldwide in the survey, it’s not enough for an FBO to score highly in just one or two categories; the top-rated facilities must show consistent quality across all five areas.

AIN FBO Survey 2025 (881K)