F B O O P E R A T I O N S
Banyan Air Service at Fort
Lauderdale Executive Airport, USA
Jet Center Los Angeles at Hawthorne
Municipal Airport, California
Jet Center Los Angeles is the closest
business airport to Downtown LA, Santa
Monica and the South Bay. Situated three
miles southeast of LAX, Hawthorne is also
the nearest airport to the new NFL Stadium,
home of the LA Rams and LA Chargers from
fall of 2020.
“Our people are hands down what
makes us great,” says Levi Stockton,
president at Jet Center Los Angeles. “Not a
lot of pilots or aircraft owners know about
Hawthorne Airport, but once they discover
our staff and location, we tend to make
long term relationships.
“In addition to superior bilingual
customer service from our dedicated
team, we have invested heavily in creating
infrastructure on the field, erecting over
Ranking high in the 2018 Pilots’ Choice
Awards, Banyan Air Service at Fort
Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE)
welcomes 5,000 jet arrivals and departures
each month, with its peak period stretching
from November through to April. In
addition to its close proximity to the
business hubs of Fort Lauderdale and
Miami, the FBO is a popular choice with
customers visiting annual events such
as the Fort Lauderdale Air Show and Fort
Lauderdale International Boat Show.
“Customer service training is provided
for our staff from the very first day,” says
Jon Tonko, director of customer support at
Banyan Air Service. “Our human resources
team will oversee customer service
during their indoctrination, and then
the department managers and trainers
will continue to teach why the customer
experience at Banyan is so important. This
gives new recruits the tools and training to
wow our guests.”
Tonko prides the facility in being a one
stop shop for private aviation needs
in South Florida, offering FBO and
MRO services, aircraft sales,
aircraft parts, its Jet Runway
Café, and the world’s
largest pilot shop.
These features,
paired with
38 | BU S INE S S A I R P O R T INT E RNAT I ONA L J U L Y 2 0 1 9
75,000ft2 of brand-new hangar space that
can house up to a G650-sized aircraft.”
In addition to a full FBO service offering
Jet Center Los Angeles offers aircraft
management and charter operations in
conjunction with Advanced Air and has a
passenger lounge, conference rooms, pilot
rest areas, and restaurant located inside
the FBO lobby.
“As we refine and expand our
FBO experience and services, we will
continue to invest in its IS-BAH safety
programs, customer service training and
infrastructure upgrades,” says Stockton.
“After our expansion phase, 2019 and
2020 will be outlined by building our
processes to ensure our culture of safety
and service is second to none.”
“Our people
are hands down
what makes
us great”
Levi Stockton, president at Jet
Center Los Angeles
Banyan’s established approach of building
relationships with the flight department
and owners, is what Tonko believes makes
the FBO stand out from the crowd.
“We will look to continuously extend our
customer offering by training for service
excellence and keeping the Banyan culture
front and center,” says Tonko. “We will
also have an additional eight hangars with
office space ready to rent from January
2020 to meet the high demand for hangar
space at FXE.
“A first rate FBO is one who puts
the customer first. They anticipate
their needs, do it right the first
time, do what is promised
and take the time to
build long lasting
relationships.”
“Customer service
training is provided for our
staff from the very first day.
This gives new recruits the
tools to wow our guests”
Jon Tonko, director of customer support
at Banyan Air Service