A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

Santiago, Chile-based Aerocardal Limitada has become the first FBO in Latin America to be accepted into the Air Elite Network, which is World Fuel Services’s specially-selected group of service providers for business aviation. Aerocardal, which is a full-service facility with its own fuel farm and trucks, is now the WFS preferred ground handler and fuel distributor for business aviation at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport.


The Chilean company’s newly-renovated 24/7 facility has a 7,700-sq-ft (715-sq-m) terminal, which is one of the largest in Latin America. It features separate executive passenger lounges for international and domestic boarding, customs and immigration service, concierge, onsite car rental, flight planning room, crew rest area, and showers. An extensive video camera surveillance system adds an additional level of security.


The FBO has nearly three acres (11,000 sq m) of ramp space in addition to more than 30,000 sq ft (nearly 3,000 sq m) of available hangar storage. “We are excited to be the first to bring the Air Elite service designation to Latin America,” said Ricardo Real, Aerocardal’s general manager. “It has always been the goal of our team to provide the very best of service to private aviation travelers in Santiago.”


Air Elite was established in 2011, and for an FBO to qualify for membership it must meet certain airport, facility and service quality requirements. This latest addition to the network brings the number of worldwide locations to 31.


Recently, former vice chairman of Air Elite Larry Wade of Golden Isles Aviation in St. Simons Island, Georgia was elected chairman of the network, while Will Holroyd of the UK’s Harrods Aviation was named as vice chair. The board’s representation aligns with the locations and demographics of the network’s membership for the betterment of the programs and direction of Air Elite, according to World Fuel Services (Booth 3010).


In the Wednesday edition of LABACE Convention News, read more about World Fuel Services’s perspective on the Latin American market.

Air Elite Network Inducts First Latin American FBO

Aerocardal in Santiago, Chile is named as the first FBO in South America to meet the World Fuel Service-backed group’s standards.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

LABACE Convention News 2014

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