Three Key Marketing Elements for Every FBO

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As we turn a page on another year, it is time to think about your marketing strategies to help build a stronger and larger customer base. The cornerstone of any FBO marketing plan should include the following three key elements: Customer Acquisition Customer Retention Customer Recommendation Customer Acquisition Central to developing a customer acquisition initiative is to create consistent and coordinated touchpoints that make it easy for customers, both current and potential, to interface with your operations.
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Motivate Your FBO's Team to Reach Desired Objectives

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In managing the day-to-day activities of your FBO operation, it’s important to motivate your service team in order to reach your desired operational objectives.

In developing your objectives, think of what your desired goal is (which is essentially a desired outcome). Objectives will help you focus on any particular task at hand and serve as a focal point for your service team as they work to achieve these goals.

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FBO Success - Create Customer Engagement to Broaden Market Reach

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Engaging customers in a meaningful and thoughtful way creates the glue that binds them to your FBO brand and helps broaden your market reach.

The more reach or penetration you have in your geographic area or region of influence, the more awareness you create for your brand, resulting in potential gain in market share.

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Attract and Keep FBO Customers with ‘Curb’ Appeal

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Attracting and keeping transient FBO customers starts with making a first good impression; it begins with ‘curb’ appeal, or more aptly, ‘ramp appeal.’

Just like in the real estate industry, how potential or new customers perceive your operations starts with the moment they first lay eyes on your facility as they taxi onto your ramp.

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FBO Industry Forecast: Brace for a Slow but Positive Recovery into 2022

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As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. and world economies begin to wane, the FBO industry is bracing for a slow but positive recovery.

This is part of our FBO industry forecast for the next three quarters and into the first part of 2022. Our forecast, threaded below, is based on our Annual FBO Fuel Sales Survey, interviews with FBO owners and aircraft operators, analysis of the oil markets and the aviation fuel industry.

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Nearly 70% of FBOs Reeling from Covid Sting in 2020

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The effects of the Covid-19 bug on the FBO Industry in 2020 has left nearly 70% of FBOs in the U.S. and Canada reeling from its nasty sting. This is the overall takeaway from our recent Annual FBO Fuel Sales Survey.

In total, 67% of survey respondents said they had a decrease in fuel sales in 2020, compared to 2019. This is by far the most negative responses we have received in the eight years we have been conducting this survey.

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The Three Elements For FBO Success in 2021

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As FBOs closed their books on 2020, the sound heard around the industry was a collective sigh of relief as we ended of one of the most trying years in U.S. history.

As we turn the page on our calendars to a new year, it is time to take stock of where we are and where we are headed.

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FBO Fall Fuel Sales Survey Results: A Tale of Two FBOs

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If Charles Dickens were to write this blog post about the results of our FBO Fall Fuel Sales Survey, he may very well have begun the way he so poignantly penned the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

In this Covid-19 induced time of upheaval, we find an FBO industry trying to climb its way out of a very dark March and April, seeking the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. While some FBOs have caught a glimpse of sunlight, others are seeing shrouds of fog frosting over the lens.

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FBO Business Strategy: Get the Offense Rolling

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When operating an FBO in the Covid-19 pandemic era, it’s easy to get caught up playing defense. After all, the natural instinct is to preserve what we have. Apply for the PPP program, adjust operations and manage cash flow.

This conservative approach seems to have worked for many FBOs until the PPP program funds ran out. Now it is a wait and see game, hoping that business aircraft traffic will pick up and fuel sales will return to pre-pandemic levels.

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Preparing for a New Business Reality: Unbundled Services, Tiered Pricing

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No one really knows what the new normal for the FBO industry will be. Now is a good time to examine your current business model and make adjustments to keep your revenue stream as consistent as possible.

With this in mind, we suggest FBOs take a closer look at the European FBO business model in which services are unbundled.

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Preparing for a New FBO Business Reality as U.S. Cases of COVID-19 Surge

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FBOs continue to face a pandemic shaking the foundation upon which the FBO industry stands.

Since our last blog post in May, there have been reports of positive progress in dealing with the virus outbreak, but, in the United States, the gains may be short-lived.

Going into June, many states started to open businesses according to government-issued guidelines. Early reports of increased business aircraft flight activity have been encouraging. Part 135 charter operators and fractional aircraft owner programs both reported higher than anticipated demand for their services. Customers were seeking an alternative to crowded commercial airline terminals and the close mingling of strangers in the confined space of a commercial airline cabin environment.

Now, as June ends with a series of the highest daily totals of new cases of infection, a COVID-19 resurgence has some states, such as Texas and Florida, backtracking their business re-opening plans. In fact, some states have considered restricting airline traffic coming from states with increased COVID-19 case activity. Is business aircraft traffic next to be scrutinized?

This start-and-stop pattern will undoubtedly have a boomerang effect on the FBO industry.

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FBOs Can Learn from Previous Crises and Prepare for New Reality

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No one can truly predict the future of the FBO industry, certainly not in these unsettled times.

Everything looked very rosy just a few short months ago. In our Annual FBO Fuel Sales Survey, published at the end of January, FBO operators were predicting another good year in 2020 following the growth and success of their businesses in 2019. The biggest problem the industry faced was finding and retaining good employees.

Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented a new business reality for which FBOs must prepare. No one knows exactly what it is going to look like. Reflecting on relative recent history can give us a potential barometer by which we can gauge and draw some conclusions.

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Reduce Fuel Spills by Mitigating Risk

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Eliminating fuel spills in the FBO environment is virtually impossible; however, they can be reduced by mitigating the risk. Learn what FBO ownership and management can do, and review best practices to include in your SOPs.
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NBAA-BACE Roundup: FBO Industry Upbeat on Reports of Positive Fuel Sales for 2019

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As 2019 winds down, the mood of FBOs attending the annual NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) held Oct. 22-24 in Las Vegas was upbeat with many reporting positive fuel sales for the year.
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Ongoing DEF Fuel Contamination Problem Sparks Safety Alert from NTSB

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In response to several incidents within a 19-month period, last week the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a Safety Alert warning providers of jet fuel to take measures to prevent diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) contamination.

In a related news release, the Safety Board says it wants fuel providers to keep all chemicals in labeled containers and to add a label to all DEF containers that reads, “NOT FOR AVIATION USE.”

We also recommend that FBOs use this NTSB poster in their operations. Post it in the line service area as well as where any chemical, fluid or lubricant is stored.

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Handling of Dangerous Goods: Be Aware

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Operating an FBO certainly has its challenges, especially when a customer wants you to handle dangerous, hazardous, irregular or unusual goods. For the most part, we recommend that FBOs have a policy of not handling these types of goods or materials. However, all employees must have awareness training to identify what constitutes dangerous and hazardous goods and what to do if they encounter any.
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Speeding on the FBO Ramp Can Be a Costly Proposition

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Every year more than 27,000 ramp accidents are reported worldwide. Collectively, they cost an estimated $10 billion. The causes run the gamut from carelessness to not following standard operating procedures (SOPs), such as obeying ramp speed limits.

That is why it is important to follow established FBO industry best practices written in a user-friendly and teachable SOP format. Your SOPs are your standard for excellence and should cover all procedures in detail.

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Eight Best Practices to Prevent Hangar Rash or Worse

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Hangar rash sounds nasty and is the bane of all FBOs.

We’ve all seen it. A line service technician gets in a hurry repositioning a GIV in a hangar and bangs the tail into another Gulfstream.

Say the estimated cost to repair the damage is $175,000. Assume the FBO’s insurance deductible is $25,000. That $25,000 is a big hit to the bottom line.

How does an FBO reduce the risk of this kind of incident? The answer is having a strong safety culture that invests in proper training of line personnel with a defined set of hangar and ramp movement practices as part of standard operating procedures (SOP).

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