Lou Pepper, the former decades-long CEO of Atlantic Aviation, will be awarded by the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) with its highest honor, the William “Bill” Ong Memorial Award, at its Aviation Business Conference next month in Nashville.
Under his leadership, Atlantic grew from just five locations in 1999 to more than 100 today, making it one of the world’s largest aviation service provider chains and helping redefine the concept of a service-first FBO.
Pepper’s career spanned nearly a half-century, starting as a line manager at Teterboro Aircraft Services, where his duties included hiring and training line service technicians. He rose to the position of general manager before moving on to Texas as v-p for Jet East at Dallas Love Field. He later bought the Million Air franchise location at Addison Airport before leading the acquisition of Atlantic Aviation in 2000. Pepper—who still serves as a member of Atlantic's board of directors—remained as CEO of the company until 2023, introducing a first-class customer service culture along with advanced safety standards, investments in mission-critical infrastructure, and support for pilots and airports through technology advancements.
“Lou’s accomplishments and experience speaks for itself, and it's more than fitting that he be presented with our highest honor,” said NATA president and CEO Curt Castagna. “He has been one of the most exceptional leaders in the FBO business, creating an extraordinary and lasting model of success for others to follow.”
Named in honor of NATA’s co-founder and first president, the Ong Award is presented for extraordinary achievement and meritorious service to the general aviation industry.
“I’m humbled and extremely excited to win this very prestigious award,” said Pepper, adding that he recognized the names of many friends on the list of previous winners. “It’s quite an honor to be mentioned alongside such a list of luminaries.”