Jet Aviation will expand its U.S. FBO network to the west coast with last week’s announcement by Los Angeles World Airports that the General Dynamics subsidiary was awarded a 30-year lease to establish a new location at Van Nuys Airport. The $40 million project will also include a maintenance facility under the management of sister company Gulfstream Aerospace.
The vote from the airport’s board of commissioners signals the return of FBO operations to the location on the north side of the airfield, which has been vacant since the departure of Pentastar Aviation early in 2013 and the bankruptcy of Basenet in 2014. “Today’s action by the Board of Airport Commissioners reaffirms our commitment to develop VNY in a way that provides assured economic benefits for the airport, Van Nuys and the San Fernando Valley,” said commission president Sean Burton. “Jet Aviation’s partnership with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation will create more than 200 new jobs and will have an estimated $89 million economic impact to the local economy over the term of the lease.”
The Los Angeles-area airport is currently home to three service providers: Castle & Cooke Aviation, Clay Lacy Aviation and Signature Flight Support, the latter of which occupies two locations. According to Jet Aviation, the lease on the 17-acre site still requires final approval from the city of Los Angeles, which is anticipated within the next month.