Fixed-Base Operation: FBO

1. An FBO's role is service. They do not make money by selling tickets for flights, but by selling fuel to plane owners and offering them a place to park their plane or plan the rest of their flight. Fixed-Base Operation: FBO

2. Intro: The Aviation Service Industry All civil aircraft are directly affected by the safety regulations of the FAA (In the US) Aviation Service requires maintenance, repairs and installation of parts Aircraft must go through a cyclical re-inspection on at least on annual basis Major airliners usually have their own maintenance facilities for periodic and progressive maintenance

3. Intro: The Aviation Service Industry But a few major general aviation business aircraft operators rely on the services of specialized support business operations

4. Fixed-Base Operations Def: a service center at an airport that may be a private enterprise or may be a department of the municipality that the airport serves At a minimum, most FBOs offer aircraft fuel, oil, and parking, along with access to washrooms and telephones. Some FBOs offer additional aircraft services such as hangar (indoor) storage, maintenance, aircraft charter or rental, flight training, deicing, and ground services such as towing and baggage handling.

5. Fixed-Base Operations FBOs may also offer services not directly related to the aircraft, such as rental cars, lounges, and hotel reservations FBOs’ operations commonly contracted at/ close to an airport , and often while sharing the airport with air carrier and military operations

6. Fixed-Base Operations • Major services provided by FBOs are • Ground Handling • Cabin Service • Catering • Ramp Service • Passenger Service • Field Operations Service

7. Ground Handling Many airlines subcontract ground handling to an airport or a handling agent, or even to another airline. Ground handling addresses the many service requirements of a passenger aircraft between the time it arrives at a terminal gate and the time it departs on its next flight. Speed, efficiency, and accuracy are important in ground handling services in order to minimize the turnaround time (the time during which the aircraft must remain parked at the gate).

8. Ground Handling Airlines with less-frequent service or fewer resources at a particular location sometimes subcontract ground handling or on-call aircraft maintenance to another airline, as it is a short-term cheaper alternative to setting up its own ground handling or maintenance capabilities.

9. Ground Handling Most ground services are not directly related to the actual flying of the aircraft, and instead involve other tasks. The major categories of ground handling services are described below.

10. Cabin Services These services ensure passenger comfort. They include such tasks as cleaning the passenger cabin and replenishment of on-board consumables or washable items such as soap, pillows, tissues, blankets, etc.

11. Catering Catering includes the unloading of unused food and drink from the aircraft, and the loading of fresh food and drink for passengers and crew. Airline meals are typically delivered in trolleys. The empty or trash-filled trolley(s) from the previous flight is replaced by a fresh one. Meals are prepared mostly on the ground in order to minimize the amount of preparation (apart from chilling or reheating) required in the air.

12. Ramp Service • This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as: • Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position (by way of Aircraft marshalling • Water cartage (to refill fresh water tanks) • Refueling, which may be done with a refueling tanker truck or refueling pumper • Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or airstairs, some budget airlines use both to improve turnaround speed) etc.

13. Ramp Service • This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as: • Lavatory drainage, Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft) • Airstart units (for starting engines) • Luggage handling, usually by means of beltloaders and baggage carts • Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies, and cargo loaders • Catering trucks, Wheelchair lifts, if required • Deicing, Ground power

14. Passenger Service This includes services inside the airport terminal such as: Providing check-in counter services for the passengers departing on the customer airlines. Providing Gate arrival and departure services. The agents are required to meet a flight on arrival as well as provide departure services including boarding passengers, closing the flight, etc. Staffing the Transfer Counters, Customer Service Counters, Airline Lounges, etc.

15. Field Operation Service This service dispatches the aircraft, maintains communication with the rest of the airline operation at the airport and with Air Traffic Control.

16. Other Operations of FBO • Can be summarized as listed below • Administration of the business • Line Services • Fueling • Sale of lubricants • Aircraft storage • Bulk hangarage • T-hangarage

17. Other Operations of FBO • Aircraft maintenance (related to MRO) • Major repairs and constructions • Minor repairs • Annual inspections and relicensing • Engine maintenance • Major • Minor • Remanufacture

18. Other Operations of FBO • Avionics • Sales • Services • Maintenance • Recertification • Aircraft Sales and rentals • New aircraft • Used aircraft

19. Other Operations of FBO • Flight instruction • Primary • Advanced • Instrument • Multi-engine • Recurrent • Parts sales and service • Tires, brakes and bearings • Batteries

20. Other Operations of FBO • Specialized commercial functions • Aerial advertising • Not all FBOs perform all the functions listed before • Some may specialize in only one or two categories

21. Other Operations of FBO • But normally performs the 6 major functions either as • Part of business • By leasing space out to specialists who perform the functions on the owned/ leased premises • An FBOs is like a shopping mall manager who is charged with making a profit on each of the many, widely diverse individual business operations within the orbit of the overall operation

22. Size and Scope of FBOs • Fall into four categories • Major • Medium-size • Small • Special Size

23. MAJOR • Located at major airports and fully equipped to handle the servicing and maintenance of all types of aircraft • From the large air carriers used by majors service carriers and business corporations to single-engine aircraft • Have a multi-plex operations, but most have a single operations base

24. MAJOR Some affiliated with franchise and operate nationally and internationally, Whereas others are independently owned and operated but have a network affiliation with other independents Major type of FBOs either independently operated/ part of a larger corporation whose interests extend beyond FBO with million revenues

25. MEDIUM SIZE • Different from the MAJOR in terms of • The size of investment (at 50 million with sales volume range to 5-25 million) • But also located at air-carrier served airports • At least must be able to remove and repair any aircraft that might use their facility in the event/ situation such aircraft become disabled on the ramps or runaways

26. SMALL • Out of 3500 FBOs 2000 are small-U.S. • A.k.a ‘mom-and-pop shops’: Doing business on shoestring using the cash drawer system • Early year: So much money • Mid year: Some goes out some comes in • End year: What is left is profit • But very vulnerable in the modern business environment

27. SMALL • Majority of its operators have no business training • Commonly started by s/one who loves aviation: • An aeronautical specialist • A pilot • Mechanic • Technician- engine rebuilder, radio expert, sheet metal fabricator • Then the business grows to meet the increasing demands of the aviation public

28. SPECIAL • They are some extremely specialized aviation operations found at public airports • Not really a true FBOs but provide necessary services and considered as essential in aviation industry • Operated by engine manufacturers and remanufacturers, avionics, propeller specialists, and flight training specialists

29. FBO-Profitability There can be no general aviation transportation w/out a nationwide system of FBOs to support it FBOs are the backbone of general aviation transportation In recent time, the industry is now in the position to develop and sustain rational groth and profitability as the supply and demand increasing