FBOs Are Gearing Up for an All-Electric Future

By John Enticknap and Ron Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group ABSGgroup.com

The days of servicing aircraft with an all-electric fleet of ground support equipment may be here sooner than you think. Already, many FBOs are looking to reduce their carbon footprint with purchases of electric tugs, golf carts, lav carts, potable water carts, belt loaders and portable electric GPU’s.

But the biggest item, the electric refueler, has been the last major piece of the puzzle, until now.

At the recent NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers (S&D) Conference in Nashville, TN, we kicked the tires of an electric avgas refueler on display by Garsite. The unit is a 900-gallon avgas refueler which meets all the standards of NFPA 407. The refueler is powered by Lithium iron phosphate batteries, which, according to the manufacturer, offers a long lifespan, no maintenance and increased safety.

Garsite, in partnership with Envirotech Vehicles, which provides the new zero emission, purpose-built electric chassis, announced that it has delivered its first all-electric aircraft refueler to Atlantic Aviation in Colorado. During discussions with the Garsite representatives at the S&D conference, they indicated that progress is being made on developing a 5,000 gallon electric refueler as well.

Other Thoughts From the 2023 Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference

Registered attendance at the S&D conference was up this year and purportedly surpassed pre-pandemic levels. This gave us ample opportunity to engage FBO business leaders in meaningful discussions about the industry.

The general consensus was that 2022 was a fairly robust year for fuel sales, private flying, aircraft sales and charter flying. But there were a few we talked to that offered cautious optimism entering 2023. Some are starting to experience a slowing in used aircraft sales and a leveling off of transient aircraft traffic. Many have experienced a slowdown in Jet A fuel sales as the new year has begun.

The S&D always offers opportunities to explore new product releases, and with our passion towards building a safer FBO environment through our involvement with the IS-BAH program, one company caught our attention with a product called Hangar Safe™.

This product is aimed at helping to prevent hangar rash which is estimated to cause approximately $150 million in damage annually to business aircraft. The installation involves mapping the hangar environment and installing sensors and alarms which aids line techs in placing an aircraft in the hangar. Warning distances can be adjusted during installation and training. We think it’s a very innovative solution to help prevent hangar rash.

At our NATA FBO Success and Management Seminar, April 25 and 26 in New Orleans, we will be discussing more innovations in the FBO industry as well as many topics we have been covering in our AC-U-KWIK Alert blog series. The seminar in an event-filled journey into the inner workings of running and operating a more successful FBO enterprise and is designed for the FBO owner, operator, manager, supervisor and other key employees.

Click Here for more seminar information and to register.

Please leave any comments you have about this blog post below. If you have any questions, please give us a call or send us an email: jenticknap@bellsouth.net, 404-867-5518; ronjacksongroup@gmail.com, 972-979-6566.

ABOUT THE BLOGGERS: John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and is an IS-BAH Accredited auditor. Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group (ABSG) and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. Visit the biography page or absggroup.com for more background.

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