For 2018, the FBO industry experts AIN spoke with predict no dramatic changes ahead for the FBO industry. “We don’t foresee any large chains involved in further consolidation activity, while the smaller chains will continue to be judicious with their selection process,” stated John Enticknap and Ron Jackson, the principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group. In their annual FBO market condition survey, the results of which will be released in February ahead of NBAA’s Scheduler’s and Dispatchers Conference, they say the mood of the industry overall is very upbeat, with many markets reporting a steady stream of transient customers.

While the pace of FBO purchases has slowed, there will still be FBOs changing hands, though those locations might not be at major airports, noted Todd Baumgartner, senior partner with FBO Partners. “There are a lot of people out there beating the bushes trying to find FBOs to acquire,” he told AIN. “The FBO chains and all the private equity players flooding into the space are looking into that B-tier and C-tier market and are trying to find opportunities. You’re still dealing with an industry where over 88 percent of the airports have just one FBO on the field.”

Companies will continue to invest heavily in new infrastructure, as numerous projects will be completed in 2018, such as a new FBO terminal and hangar complex at Sheltair’s FBO at New York City-area Republic Airport, which will bring the location to 180,000 sq ft of aircraft storage space, and a 75,000-sq-ft hangar complex at the Signature Flight Support facility at Houston’s Hobby Airport.

During this past spring, the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), acknowledged the first Stage II registration for its International Standard for Business Aviation Handling (IS-BAH), a voluntary code of industry best safety practices. It debuted in 2014, and the first company achieved registration the following year. Since then, the number of companies that have passed the Stage I auditing process has swelled to 96 worldwide, six of which have graduated to Stage II of the process.

According to Terry Yeomans, IBAC’s director of the IS-BAH program, it has been gaining momentum, with another 25 locations expected to be achieve Stage I registration in the first quarter of 2018, while another dozen or so of the existing IS-BAH locations should receive Stage II acceptance. “We’re very pleased with the way it’s going so far,” Yeomans told AIN. “It’s on track with where we’d expected it to be, we just want to try to expand as much as we can the global reach of it.” He expects the recent addition of the African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) to IBAC will introduce more FBOs and handlers to the process. The first Stage III candidates are expected in 2019.