ACI Jet has grown into a new force in the West Coast FBO scene, after securing a hotly contested leasehold at John Wayne-Orange Country Airport (SNA) from incumbent Signature Flight Support in January. Although the ACI Jet lease is for a short term—until December next year—the company’s leadership expects to sign a longer lease, and in a sign of confidence about the future has already refurbished the SNA facility.

The $600,000 refurbishment was completed on September 30, modernizing the 1990s-era, 8,000-sq-ft terminal with four A/V-equipped conference rooms ranging from six to 12 seats, a passenger lobby, pilot lounge and two comfortable snooze rooms with full-size beds and shower facilities. “We [were] looking at a building with good bones and giving it some tender loving care it always needed,” said ACI Jet SNA general manager Joe Daichendt.

The company culture and every employee’s passion for aviation is part of the experience. “Pilots can walk up to the front desk and ask for the impossible and our team will deliver,” he said. The Avfuel-branded FBO, one of two providers on the airport, offers 80,000 sq ft of hangar space, capable of sheltering the latest big business jets.

The SNA facility is ACI Jet’s largest, and it also operates FBOs at company headquarters in San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles and Oceano County airports. Both the SNA and San Luis Obispo operations house FAA Part 145-approved maintenance facilities, and ACI’s charter/management division brings in a significant amount of revenue. The latest addition to the charter fleet is a G650.

ACI traces its beginnings to 1998, when founder and CEO William Borgsmiller opened his first FBO at central California’s San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport.

Borgsmiller is proud that many of the people on the ACI team have remained loyal to the company. “It’s all about finding the right people,” he said. “That is a challenge. You have to find people who have the technical expertise to do the complex things we do, whether it’s flying an airplane to China in the middle of the night or taking an airplane apart and putting it together properly." ACI Jet employs 100 people, with 24/7 service at the larger facilities. To encourage employees to learn more about aviation, ACI operates a flying club that allows employees to fly for the cost of fuel.

Borgsmiller’s goals is to engage a new generation of pilots and especially mechanics, which have become scarce. ACI’s maintenance shops promote mentorship and continuing education to help employees earn their mechanic certificate. “The industry needs fresh blood,” he said. “We are short of pilots right now, and mechanics are hard to find.”

When ACI Jet took over the SNA FBO, it cut fuel prices almost in half, to $3.76 from $7 per gallon. “We made the point that if the airport is not happy with the way things are today, use this opportunity to make a change and you will have a couple of years to look at something different before you make a long-term 20-year commitment,” said Borgsmiller.

“So far we have brought positive change to the airport and growth in volume, traffic, business and based aircraft. We are going to be in a really good spot to stay here for a long time.”

At the core of ACI Jet’s SNA initiative is Daichendt. He began the journey to SNA two years ago, joining a group of frustrated stakeholders at the airport. At that time Borgsmiller was considering acquiring a lease in Santa Barbara but welcomed the opportunity to join Southern California’s growing market. “Our hope is that we can take it over the top in every way,” said Daichendt.