FBOs
FBOs Feel the Labor Pinch
While soaring fuel prices have led to pain at the pump, petroleum costs are not the only factor stressing the FBO market.
Photo: Matt Thurber
Photo: Matt Thurber

In the post-Covid pandemic environment, private aviation has surged as those with the means to avoid the airlines—with their close personal contact and still-diminished schedules—have done so. While that has led to record traffic for most FBOs, factors such as rising fuel prices, inflation, and a tight labor market have put pressure on their payrolls and margins. These factors also have stressed the ability of companies to maintain staffing amid increasing work tempos.

Disruptions from Covid and the geopolitical fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent the retail price of jet-A soaring to record heights earlier this year, hitting more than $14 per gallon in the northeast in April. Brent crude reached a peak on March 8 of $127.98 per barrel, an 87.5 percent increase from the previous year, according to Oil Price Information Service (OPIS).