Story ID: 481JetAviation
Jet Aviation Grows Its Global Infrastructure
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Jet Aviation highlights its many expansion projects and growth at NBAA-BACE 2019.
Word Count: 523
Jet Aviation is investing heavily in its global FBO network, which now totals 35 locations. Earlier this month, the company officially opened its latest hangar at its Teterboro Airport facility in New Jersey. The 40,000-sq-ft structure features 30-ft-high doors and can accommodate aircraft up to a Bombardier Global 7500. It brings the location up to approximately 270,000 sq ft of hangar space overall at the nation’s busiest business aviation gateway.

Across the country, the Zurich-based company expects to debut its new-build facility at Van Nuys Airport in California by the end of the year. It will consist of a 10,000-sq-ft terminal and a 43,000-sq-ft hangar also with 30-ft-high doors, and 8,000 sq ft of office space. It will adjoin a 42,000-sq-ft operations center for sister company Gulfstream, with more than 20,000 sq ft of office space.

“As part of the country’s second-busiest general aviation airport we are proud to offer our customers a one-stop-shop for all their aircraft service needs, including aircraft management, refueling, domestic and international handling, charter, cleaning and maintenance on-demand,” said Michael McDaniel, the facility’s director and general manager. “Additionally, we have massive ramp space that allows our customers to avoid congestion issues and the need for towing, especially larger aircraft." He added that aircraft will be able to taxi unobstructed on arrival and departure.

The Van Nuys location will be the first of the company’s facilities to offer sustainable fuel, via a blended fuel option, in a program that will evolve as additional supply becomes available.

Jet Aviation (Booth N4635) also has hangar expansion projects underway at its San Juan, Puerto Rico and West Palm Beach, Florida locations and plans to begin significant renovations at its Dallas-area FBO. Lastly, construction is set to begin on a new facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, after the company acquired a share in the Scottsdale Jet Center. This year the company also plans to establish FBO services from a newly refurbished 6,500-sq-ft, two-story facility at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh Saudi Arabia.

“The facility expansions throughout our FBO network demonstrate our commitment to delivering industry-leading services where our customers need and want them,” said David Best, the company’s v-p of regional operations for the U.S. “The continued investment in new and existing facilities is aimed at exceeding our customers’ expectations across a full range of business aviation services.”

Those efforts have earned notice as the aviation services provider recently took home FBO of the Year honors at the 2019 Business Aviation Awards held last week in Dubai. “It’s a great honor to have the quality of our global FBO network acknowledged by the industry,” said Hardy Butschi, v-p of operations for the Middle East and general manager for Dubai.

The company also noted that it has added 35 aircraft to its global management fleet over the past year, including 24 in the U.S. and 11 in EMEA and Asia, bringing it to approximately 300 aircraft globally, including its first Global 7500, which was added in June. Of those 24 recent U.S.-based aircraft additions, 10 were listed on its Part 135 certificate.