We, in the deal-making business, are looking further down the list of the TOP 500 busiest airports. I t wasn’t very many years ago that virtually all FBO transactions involved the largest FBOs on the busiest airports. Up until about 2000, an FBO owner at Van Nuys Airport, CA (VNY) or Teterboro Airport, NJ (TEB) had lots of interest, but, for those in Tuscaloosa—not so much. As general aviation activity has grown, so has the number of airports representing attractive markets for buyers of FBOs. So, instead of focusing on the Top 100 airports, we in the deal-making business are look- ing further down the list of the Top 500 busiest airports. And here’s another thing that’s changed: the avail- able information that buyers use to target certain mar- kets. One source that I see increasingly referenced is the FAA’s “Aviation System Performance Metrics,” a database that is real handy to assess markets in terms of national rank and growth. Using jet activity (measured by the total number of departures and arrivals, or “move- ments”) the top five are (not surprisingly) as follows: 2017 Activity and 10-Year Trend “Top 500” Excerpt, Ranked by 2017 Business Aviation Jet Movements Jet (Avg. +5.7%) Move- ments 1 TEB Teterboro 2 HPN White Plains 3 DAL Dallas 4 IAD Washington 5 LAS Las Vegas The data show how airport activity ranks nationally and how the activity has trended over time. The rank- ing is based on jet movements, with comparable turbine and piston movements also included. In this report of 2017 rankings,1 movement of “Business Aviation” air- craft is used to focus on business-use aircraft operating on IFR flight plans that tend to use more FBO services. 1 The database can be accessed through https://aspm.faa.gov, Traffic Flow Management System Counts (or TFMSC). Aviation Business Journal | 3rd Quarter 2018 142,437 62,098 59,051 57,447 51,927 10-Yr. Trend -2% -21% -1% -25% -21% (Avg. +62.8%) Turbine Move- ments 13,302 13,466 12,819 8,313 7,226 10-Yr. Trend 76% 174% 22% 60% 16% (Avg. -52.3%) Piston Move- ments 2,456 6,272 2,341 1,270 542 10-Yr . Trend -84% -22% -68% -85% -83% PUTTING THE DATA TO WORK Let’s go further down the list and look at Tuscaloosa as an example, along with the 20 airports that are similarly ranked, shown in the chart below: 2017 Activity and 10-Year Trend “Top 500” Excerpt, Ranked by 2017 Business Aviation Jet Movements Jet (Avg. +5.7%) Move- ments 212 MBPV 4,931 Providenciales 213 XNA Columbus 215 RIL Rifle 216 IWA Phoenix 217 CXO Houston 218 IXD Olathe 219 ISP New York 220 SDM San Diego 221 TRI Tuscaloosa 223 MVY 4,854 4,846 4,824 4,792 4,777 4,777 4,750 Bristol/Johnson/Kingsport 222 TCL 4,708 Vineyard Haven 224 HXD Amarillo 226 FAR Fargo 227 JVL Janesville 228 GJT 4,691 Hilton Head Island 225 AMA 4,671 4,656 4,650 4,588 Grand Junction 229 TXKF Key West 231 SJT San Angelo 232 MLB Melbourne Continued on page 79 77 4,568 Bermuda 230 EYW 4,562 4,510 4,499 289% 179% 3% -37% 0% -22% 15% -20% -17% -26% 14% 45% -25% -23% -2% 160% 66% 1,139 1,735 1,218 831 964 1,248 2,225 4,603 2,756 2,613 9,366 774 2,655 49 3,686 3,601 1,377 487% 99% 2% 28% 77% -48% 6% 156% 15% 27% 384% 70% 0% -66% 82% 143% -22% 248 1,654 1,192 992 382 1,462 1,151 6,151 2,079 738 2,585 450 700 4 2,888 772 2,077 -30% 68% -49% -56% -35% -62% -49% -41% -63% -71% -51% -54% -62% -33% -72% -73% -22% 4,895 Fayetteville/Springdale 214 OSU 4,873 4,857 10-Yr. Trend 26% 37% -33% 1% (Avg. +62.8%) Turbine Move- ments 716 711 3,677 839 10-Yr. Trend 33% 24% 58% -31% (Avg. -52.3%) Piston Move- ments 468 165 2,048 124 10-Yr . Trend -38% -58% -58% -90%
