Corporate Flight Management (CFM) has been awarded a five-year lease to operate the FBO at Tennessee’s Cleveland Regional Jetport (RZR) through the RFP process. The company, which operates two other FBOs in the state (at Nashville’s John C. Tune Airport and Smyrna Airport) takes over at RZR on July 1 from Crystal Air. The latter has been the lone service provider at the airport since it opened in 2013, and was also one of the three companies to submit proposals.  

The airport authority had considered self-management of the FBO when Crystal Air’s contract expired, following suit with most of the airports in the state, according to director of airport operations Mark Fidler, but in the end it decided to outsource the operation to CFM.

The three-year old, 8,000-sq-ft FBO terminal was designed to reflect the character of eastern Tennessee, with natural earth tones, fireplaces, stonework and local wood. It has dedicated pilot lounges with snooze rooms, three audio-visual-equipped conference rooms (the largest seating 49 people) and a full catering kitchen. An observation deck is open to the public.

An unusual provision in the lease gives both parties the option to end the contract each year.