The Reading (Pennsylvania) Airport Authority has approved the purchase of the two FBOs at Reading Regional Airport/Carl A. Spaatz Field (KRDG). The announcement marks the end of several months of negotiations between the authority and the owners of the Reading Jet Center and Millennium Aviation.
According to airport manager Zackary Tempesco, the matter came to pass when a third FBO operator that wished to establish itself on the field began negotiations with the airport. Those negotiations stalled. However, rather than face competition for an annual fuel flowage of 1.1 million gallons, the two existing service providers approached the airport authority and asked whether they could be bought out. Following the trend of airports bringing their FBO operations in-house, the authority made the decision to acquire the companies.
Purchase prices were determined at $4.7 million for Millennium Aviation and $9.1 million for Reading Jet Center, and Tempesco told AIN that plans call for operations to be consolidated in the newer, more optimally located Millennium facility on the east apron. The two FBOs are home to 20 turbine-powered aircraft and between them, they offer nearly 110,000 sq ft of hangar space that can accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Dassault Falcon 900. Tempesco noted that future capital improvements would include hangars that could handle the latest ultra-long-range business jets.
The authority plans to fund the purchase through a series of bonds and believes the revenues from the FBO will more than cover the expense. Tempesco noted that there is a large amount of development currently around the airport and the purchase will tie into a greater increase in economic impact for the area.
“The result here lets the Reading Regional Airport and the new FBO have a core mission and vision,” said Tempesco. “By merging them, we will be able to reduce expenses and capitalize on the square footage on the airport that we in the past haven’t had direct control of.”
Pending final approvals, the transactions are expected to close in early January.