Corporate Flight Departments

I do. As the maintenance manager not flight crew.
Hopefully I can answer your questions.
 
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I'm specifically interested in how hangar decisions are made within CFDs. Where to hangar, when to hangar, how they find hangars, should we build a hangar, etc. I'm looking to expand this segment of my business. Is there a way to identify the decision makers in the CFDs?
 
We built a hangar after renting for over 25 years and moved in a little over two years ago. Cost is well above renting but after looking at our options and the issues of renting it was no brainer for us.
Aircraft is a Bombardier Challenger 300 based at KCGF. The department is my self and two pilots strictly Part 91.
PM me if you want to talk and have additional questions.
 
Flocker said:
I'm specifically interested in how hangar decisions are made within CFDs. Where to hangar, when to hangar, how they find hangars, should we build a hangar, etc. I'm looking to expand this segment of my business. Is there a way to identify the decision makers in the CFDs?
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It isn’t very clear what you’re after. Are you trying to start a corporate flight department or create a program to assist companies with starting one? What is your business that you’re trying to expand?

I live in the middle of nowhere, so my response will likely differ significantly from those in a metro area. In this area airports are limited in number and are spread out far enough that you likely won’t have much of a choice in the airport to base at or the direction that the flight department takes concerning a hangar. The airport sponsor typically takes a stance on hangars concerning leasing or construction and that’s the final word. If you want to go a different route than what is offered, an attorney will likely be involved along with a lot of waiting time to get anything done. It took 3 years worth of battling with the airport sponsor to break ground on the hangar that I work out of. It is company owned and is nowhere near as cheap as renting a hangar would be but there are no hangars in existence within a reasonable driving distance that would accommodate the aircraft we are operating and storing. As you can imagine, with airport sponsors taking this sort of approach the amount interest in corporate flying is small and the sponsors can’t seem to figure out why there’s no activity at the airports.
 
mondtster said:
It isn’t very clear what you’re after. Are you trying to start a corporate flight department or create a program to assist companies with starting one? What is your business that you’re trying to expand?
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I'm a Commercial Real Estate Broker specializing in Aviation Real Estate. I'm trying to help solve the problem you mentioned above. i.e. assisting buyers, sellers, and tenants with locating, negotiating, and building (if necessary), etc.
 
Over about the last 10 years of operating our one plane department we have moved between two different FBO's and a hangar owned by the 135 operator whose certificate we are leased to (at 3 different airports). Each move was chosen based on 1) facility quality/amenities and airfield services and 2) costs. The choices we made were also based on our operational needs at the time (location, type of primary trips, and which plane we had at the time).

We've been fortunate to have had multiple choices at each of the airports we wanted to be based at and have, in my opinion, upgraded our situation with each move.

Things we consider when making the decision:

Total costs - we look at monthly rent (if available) for hangar space and a dedicated office for the crew, what services are provided with the base tenant rent (beyond pull in and out of the hangar - do we pay for GPU, AC, Lav Service, etc)?

Facility - is the hangar, lobby, office space, ramp, etc well maintained (we left one FBO because the roof leaked, the hangar wasn't well insulated, the ramp was in bad shape, and the transition from ramp into the hangar wasn't smooth (cringed every time the gear came across the threshold)

Services - is the line crew experienced, conscientious, and professional? Is everything timely and prompt? All the things you'd want for an efficient operation.

We've been fortunate to always have an option where we could rent and never had to consider an option of buying/building a hangar of our own. By doing this, we don't have to be responsible for everything on our own and the monthly rent is honestly a negligible cost in the total budget.
 
Flocker said:
I'm specifically interested in how hangar decisions are made within CFDs. Where to hangar, when to hangar, how they find hangars, should we build a hangar, etc. I'm looking to expand this segment of my business. Is there a way to identify the decision makers in the CFDs?
Click to expand...

An existing large corporate flight department will have their pulse on the market and will have long-term plans coordinated collectively by aviation/facilities/legal so not sure you can crack that nut open for new business. Smaller companies may rely more on the chief pilot/aviation manager with support by the corporate side. Now if you find new hangar opportunities in advance that no one knows about, then you have some cards to play. A company generally wants to hangar at the airport closest to their HQ or their lead executives. Analyzing to build is an exercise in knowing the local hangar market, how the local authorities structure ownership/long-term leases, and crunching lots of numbers. The easiest process is when an FBO has a tenant vacate (in a shared hangar) and the next one up signs a new lease. These include lateral moves, say from a small to larger hangar.

If I where in your field, I would spend time trying to find ways to create hangar development at various airports. With airport authority politics, rising construction costs, and thirsty builders/investors, you would have your work cut out for you, but its what is needed. More hangars! If more of the smaller GA airports would clean up their bureaucracy, simplify the process, and be proactive in finding suitable builders that can accept a reasonable ROI, than it would put a dent in the far too common hangar wait lists that exist.
 
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