Flashback: AMR Combs joins Signature fold; combined chain will number 50

REWIND: (AIN February 2004 p.6) The universe of FBO chains for pilots to choose from shrank last month. In a deal announced in London on December 15, Signature’s parent corporation, UK-based BBA, agreed to buy AMR Combs’ constellation of 11 FBOs for $170 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Owned by AMR Corp., which also owns American Airlines, AMR Combs was placed on the sales block last summer so the larger company could “concentrate on its core business.”

FAST FORWARD: One of the earlier major salvos in the FBO merger and acquisition space, the move was an early building block in Signature’s rise as the first “mega-chain” and a harbinger of the industry consolidation that would follow. In 2014 Landmark Aviation bought Ross Aviation’s 19 FBOs, and the following year Signature acquired Landmark itself and its then 68 FBOs. Earlier this year Signature purchased Tac Air and its 16 facilities, bringing more than 200 locations worldwide under its brand, while Atlantic Aviation merged with a resurgent Ross Aviation to form the industry’s second-largest chain with more than 100 locations.