Consolidation of the US fixed-base operator (FBO) industry has taken a further step forward, with the merger of Piedmont Aviation Services and Hawthorne Aviation to create a 21-location chain.
Washington DC-based investment company The Carlyle Group is providing financial support for the move and will emerge as the majority stockholder in the new Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation, which is to be based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The deal includes American Beechcraft, a Leesburg, Virginia-based FBO, and Transportech, an FBO which is located in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The merged company will be the second-largest FBO chain in the USA, behind UK-owned Signature Flight Support, which operates 41 locations (including two in Europe).
Source: Flight International