A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

While current private equity owners GTCR Golder Rauner and Platform Partners have yet to confirm reports that FBO chain Landmark Aviation is for sale, industry sources say that a deal for the services provider is close to being struck.


According to several insiders, the Carlyle Group investment fund manager–which owned the service provider (formerly known as Garrett/Piedmont-Hawthorne/Associated until its rebranding as Landmark) before its 2007 sale to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE)–will once again acquire the U.S.-based group.


Carlyle is believed to be one of three finalists from a narrowed list of potential suitors that also included rival chains Signature Flight Support and Atlantic Aviation. The asking price for Landmark–which includes 52 FBOs throughout the world, as well as MRO facilities and an aircraft charter/management fleet–is estimated to be about $700 million.


GTCR and Platform Partners’ portfolio company Encore FBO bought the chain’s then 34 FBOs along with its aircraft charter/management unit and its maintenance parts assets from DAE in 2007 for a reported $436 million. At press time, GTCR and Platform Partners did not respond to AIN’s inquiries about the potential deal, while representatives from Landmark and the Carlyle Group declined to comment.

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Insiders Say Landmark FBO Chain Will Soon Be Sold

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