Signature Aviation on Tuesday announced its purchase of Vail Valley Jet Center (VVJC) FBO at the Eagle County Regional Airport (KEGE) in Colorado.
“VVJC and its employees have earned a prominent reputation in the industry as passionate professionals, and we look forward to extending the same trusted, consistent FBO experience at the Eagle County Regional Airport under Signature ownership,” Signature Aviation CEO Tony Lefebvre said in a news release.
“Signature will continue our outstanding track record and our commitment to employees, customers, community, and the environment,” said Paul Gordon, president of Vail Valley Jet Center.
The deal allows Signature to capture the Jet Center’s 48-acre leasehold that includes:
- A spacious FBO terminal
- 245,000 square feet of heated hangars
- A deicing facility
- 25-plus acres of ramp space.
The company will also operate 10 additional hangars for a combined total of 260,000 square feet of indoor aircraft storage with two more hangars to be completed by late 2022.
Representatives from both Signature and Vail did not immediately return requests from FLYING for comment on how the transfer of ownership from the independent Vail to the Signature chain would affect the fees and cost for general aviation customers. In recent years, amid calls for more transparency, Signature has published most of its fees for piston airplanes on its website.
Why VVJC?
As the winter season approaches, the addition of VVJC will allow Signature to capture the seasonal traffic of high-net-worth individuals who frequent the area for winter sports, primarily skiing and snowboarding. With 5,289 acres of area, Vail Ski Resort is the third-largest mountain ski resort in the country and has the fourth largest inventory of skiable terrain in North America.
Before being usurped by its neighboring town of Aspen as recently as 2013, Vail was noted by Business Insider to be the most expensive ski destination in North America.
Signature’s Busy 2021
Analysts have dubbed 2021 as the year of the FBO, regarding mergers and acquisitions, and Signature has now found itself on both sides of these deals. In May after a bidding war, a consortium of private equity firms—including Blackstone, Global Infrastructure Partners, and Cascade Investments—worked together to purchase Signature Aviation for $4.7 billion from Global Infrastructure Partners.
In April, Signature also announced that Chantilly Air Jet Center of Manassas, Virginia, had joined the Signature Flight Support network as a Select Member FBO. The Signature Select program allows independent FBOs to become partner locations for Signature.
“The addition of the Vail Valley Jet Center to the Signature family of FBOs aligns with our global growth strategy, providing customers with exceptional service at both business and leisure destinations,” Lefebvre said.
