March 28, 2025
FBO special event fees now range to $30,000. They’re also getting wider, including regular NFL games and conferences like World of Concrete.
Private jet terminal operators are charging higher FBO special event fees—up to $30,000 for big events like F1 and over $25,000 for the Kentucky Derby this May.
They’re also getting wider.
Special event fees now include holiday weekends, regular season NFL games, and business conferences.
The plethora of fees could be just the first step in evolving the revenue streams of FBOs, the gas stations for private jets.
But first, here are some new places you are being asked to pay special event fees.
Local FBOs are now assessing special events on the days of home games of many NFL teams.
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That included last year, the New York Jets and Giants and the Cleveland Browns – perennial cellar dwellers.
Then, there was the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.
And don’t forget the World of Concrete convention in Las Vegas.
You were hit with a special event fee last year by Atlantic Aviation at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, even if you weren’t in town for that classic showdown between the 5-win, 8-loss Saints and the then 2-win and 11-loss Giants back on Dec. 8.
The same applies if you went to Vegas in January and were not there for World of Concrete.
During Super Bowl weekend, one FBO at Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport charged a “Big Game” special event fee even though the contest was being played in New Orleans.
“The fees are outrageous,” says the CEO of one large fleet operator.
“A joke. Not defensible,” says another.
Hang on to your wallets.
Over the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend, there were special event fees at least half a dozen airports, say executives at flight providers.
Aspen-Pitkin County Sardy Field has only one FBO, so there are no alternatives besides flying to another airport.
The special event fees ranged over $10,000.
A Gulfstream G650 had to pay $11,385 extra as a special event fee Friday through Monday.
A Challenger 350 arriving at Atlantic Aviation over the holiday weekend was charged a $5,757 special event fee.
If that seems steep, you could always have gone to Salt Lake City, where the identical G650 would have paid a special events fee of just $5,248 during Presidents Day weekend.
Airshare Vice President Chase Martin posted on LinkedIn, “[T]hese fees have gotten completely out of hand. I have no problem with a business charging additional costs to make sure they are able to operate in a safe and responsible manner but prices for these Special Event fees are of control. We are now seeing them show up for holiday weekends in the mountains and I am sure we will continue to see them popping up more and more as time goes on. Flyer, beware!”
Craig Ross of Aviation Portfolio adds, “When I started 25 years ago, there were no special event fees. You had to make a reservation for the Super Bowl or Masters, but there was no extra charge. Then, for the longest time, there were only extra fees for the Super Bowl and the Masters. The fees have expanded in the past two years and become much more expensive.”
Ross, whose company supports fractional and whole aircraft owners, adds, “There are so many gray areas in aircraft charter, card, and fractional contracts that are left for interpretation when it comes to what can be passed along. Customers should be prepared to see any increased costs passed to them. They need to spend the time and have somebody who knows what they are doing review their invoices to ensure the charges are correct.”
Special event fee surcharges have become so commonplace that many programmatic contracts now specify that special event charges will be passed on.
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Multiple executives with flight providers say they are upset at the fees.
“(FBOs) assume we will just pass the fees to our customers,” says an executive with one large flight provider.
However, flight providers already know that increased prices are the top reason customers cite for changing jet cards or fractional companies.
Nearly two-thirds (64.5%) of Private Jet Card Comparisons subscribers said increased cost was their top reason for switching providers.
That’s nearly triple the number who cited flight delays, changes, and cancellations, at 24.3%, was in the second spot.
Financial viability/uncertainty of providers, a common topic in an industry with thin margins, ranked sixth.
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Private jet flight provider executives believe consumers’ willingness to pay the fees emboldens FBOs to expand further.
However, they warn that FBO officials may be misreading the room (The special events fee for a G650 during the Kentucky Derby is listed at $26,424 below. A Phenom 300 light jet is $7,824.).
They say flyers aren’t paying the special event fees because they accept them as legitimate.
One operator says 90% of customers headed to F1 in Las Vegas last year went and paid special events fees.
For large cabin jets, the charges were over $30,000 when adding in other fees.
Executives at flight providers—charter and fractional operators, jet card providers, and ad hoc charter brokers—say customers who paid the fees were irate.
They had already booked tickets, hotel rooms, and other activities that couldn’t be canceled without penalty.
A few flew commercially, refusing to give in.
Charter operators and brokers say the fees are a headache, as it’s becoming harder to tell when and where they will appear.
For example, several sources say Atlantic Aviation’s location in South Bend, Indiana, started charging a special event fee for Notre Dame University football home games just last year.
However, its website lists no special event fees for Oct. 18, 2025, when the University of Southern California will play the Irish.
That game could draw well over 100 extra private jet arrivals.
No special event fees are posted for the September home opener against Texas A&M, another high-profile game (see below).
Atlantic’s FBO in Aspen had yet to post any special event fees for the July 4th weekend, although they had them during Presidents’ Day Weekend.
Less than three weeks from Easter weekend, ASE has posted no special events fees yet.
Atlantic Aviation did not respond to requests to comment.
Signature Aviation, which has also amped up event fees, declined to comment.
Figuring out the when, where, and how much makes it difficult for operators and brokers to notify clients in advance.
Several industry insiders say the special event fees are possibly the start of a seismic change in how FBOs price their services.
It’s called dynamic pricing and yield management.
That means pricing that shifts based on the day of the week, time of day, and market demand.
It also segments customers by profit potential.
Several executives say technology and AI are driving broader change in how we are charged for things we buy, and it is not just FBOs.
For example, it is reported that Disney wants to implement dynamic or surge pricing at U.S. parks.
For decades, Coca-Cola has played with changing pricing based on temperature.
Right now, FBOs typically update prices weekly, similar to how restaurants post their specials.
Big players have contracts that lock in prices long-term.
The special event fees are seen as a way to increase pricing outside of those contracts.
Experts say that FBOs and others are following airlines and hotels, which have done it for decades.
According to several executives, the special event fees are merely the early days of moving to dynamic pricing.
It would work like buying an airline ticket, redeeming frequent flyer points, or booking a hotel.
They say the future would mean no special event fees but real-time dynamic pricing, which would have the same effect.
Rafat Ali, CEO of travel industry research website Skift, summarizes flight provider concerns about the move to airline-style dynamic pricing.
Ali says, “No industry sector hates their loyal customers more than airlines.”
How could FBOs move to dynamic pricing?
One possibility for the future is that one or both large FBO chains (Signature and Atlantic) create (perhaps in partnership with a company outside the industry) a computer reservation system and yield management tool akin to Sabre, the online booking system launched by American Airlines more than 50 years ago that helped change how airline tickets are sold.
From airlines to hotels and car rental agencies, the sophisticated inventory and yield management systems have brought us oodles of prices and products where you can pay extra if you want to be able to cancel or pay less if you choose a non-refundable option.
The implications could be far-reaching.
FBOs are already gas stations, and fueling airplanes is at the core of their revenues.
Bigger jets need to upload more fuel.
Could they be more valuable than smaller jets, even if they take up more ramp space?
“At the end of the day, it goes back to fuel,” says one flight provider executive who called the vision of airline-style dynamic pricing “crazy and not workable.”
Yield management enabled the airlines to charge different prices for seats next to each other on the same flight.
Airlines charge steep premiums for desirable departure times and routings.
They discount off-peak flight times.
A Sabre-like booking system open to the industry for handling private jet arrivals and departures would enable smaller FBO groups and independents to move away from the archaic current pricing systems and long-term fixed-rate contracts with large fleet operators.
They say the fees you see now are merely the beginning of what FBOs envision as transitioning to a model where what you pay is based on supply and demand.
Others say independent FBOs and even nearby airports could see a new pricing structure initiated by the big players as an opportunity to gain market share.
“I don’t see the smaller players wanting to follow suit with that type of pricing plan. They view themselves as stewards of the customer. They’re not looking at the business in the same way as private equity. They would see this as an opportunity to gain market share,” another former FBO executive says.
At the same time, one flight provider executive believes that because the two big groups are, in some cases, the only options at an airport, any move to dynamic pricing or more fees could attract scrutiny from the Department of Justice.
Flight providers’ executives believe the special event fees are driven by private equity gaining ownership of the two largest FBO groups—Atlantic and Signature.
The pair have over 300 locations.
Others say it is more complicated.
Former FBO executives tell Private Jet Card Comparisons that significant events like the Super Bowl produce millions of dollars in extra costs.
Staff must be brought in from other locations.
Supplemental equipment and facilities must be rented.
Hotel rooms for extra staff cost more.
Hotels near an FBO that generally charge $100 sell rooms for $500.
They also point to flight providers who charge surcharges on peak days.
In the longer term, airplanes are getting bigger.
That means tarmacs and hangars are becoming more crowded.
FBOs are paying more for staff.
When airplanes bump into each other when being moved, hangar rash is an even bigger issue today.
Supply chain woes mean repairs that could have been handled in hours can now ground an airplane for weeks and months if a specific part isn’t available.
Anti-wealth groups have tried to prevent the expansion of facilities at airports heavily used by private aviation.
At the same time, the increase in second homes and luxury resorts in hard-to-reach areas has increased seasonal private jet flights at airports that had limited activity a decade ago.
Infrastructure is a top concern.
“The challenge when a client wants to buy their third, fourth or even fifth home is: can they land their jet nearby,” says Alasdair Pritchard, a partner in Knight Frank’s Private Office.
He adds, “This can dictate property decisions, so we help clients explore alternatives, whether that’s nearby airports with helicopter access or private airstrips on larger estates.”
There are now over 100,000 households with a net worth of more than $100 million.
In the U.S., over 900,000 households have a net worth of at least $10 million.
That is typically believed to be the entry point for regular private aviation users.
In other words, those familiar with the FBO business say the industry will need to invest more to continue serving the needs of flight providers and a growing base of private jet flyers.
Clay Lacy Aviation Chief Commercial Officer Joe Barber sees both sides.
The company operates three FBOs and is one of the largest operators of commercial private jets in the U.S.
He says FBOs need to invest significantly in training for FBO staff.
That’s particularly true for those working on the ramp, where safety is a priority.
Another former FBO executive says staffing is difficult because of the seasonality of activity at some locations.
Flight providers say they don’t believe FBOs are incurring significant incremental costs for the new range of holidays and football games for which special events fees are charged.
Others say it’s not clear.
In addition to overtime for staff at a location, increased volume could necessitate bringing tugs or fuel trucks from another location.
“What’s the cost of loading tugs on a flatbed, bringing them to another location, and then bringing staff, hotels, and everything? There are extra costs during busy periods,” says Barber.
One executive of a large provider says a better approach would be for the FBOs to be more transparent with their customers.
“What problem are they trying to solve,” he asked.
FBO executives speaking on the background say part of the issue is that depending on location, between 20% and 75% of private jet flights arrive without prior notification.
“When (jets) just show up, it’s a fire drill. FBOs are trying to provide a high level of service. It impacts the service. It impacts safety,” says another former FBO manager.
The issue may be more related to midsize and smaller operators.
Barber says Clay Lacy always notifies FBOs for its flights, and other large operators say they are notifying FBOs, usually at least the day before, what time they are coming.
“Larger operators who use scheduling software often build schedules a couple of weeks out,” another executive adds, changing them daily as they are updated and refined.
The 30 largest charter and fractional operators in the U.S. account for 30% of flight hours.
Over 1,500 operators account for the other 70%.
More than one-third have just one aircraft.
This means that FBOs may not have an accurate reading of demand until one or two days in advance.
That impacts staffing.
When asked if the idea of a more sophisticated Sabre-like system eventually would mean operators making reservations or notifying for 100% of arrivals by some specific time window across the board, another FBO executive said, “I completely expect that.”
Flight providers say customers who fly privately are already paying a lot for the flexibility to change their plans.
However, a key question is going to be cost.
One flight provider asks, “Is it simply a notification that we are showing up at a particular time, or are you charging us different prices at different times of the day or day of the week?”
Dynamic pricing for handling fees is a non-starter, according to flight providers.
One former charter operator executive said he couldn’t envision how it would work.
He said that going back and telling a customer that it would cost an extra $500 to land at 5 pm instead of 10 am is a non-starter.
In February, Signature started charging a fee for operators who arrived at Teterboro Airport without making a reservation in advance.
The FBO chain told Aviation International News the fee enables it to prepare more effectively.
That helps operators and customers.
Signature says it will reduce taxi time and possible service delays.
For flight provider schedulers and dispatchers, sourcing, and accounting departments, keeping up with the special event fees is likely a headache.
Fees for events like World of Concrete are hard to anticipate.
Fees are seemingly imposed with little notice.
This means more work is needed to notify customers in advance about fees.
It will mean more difficult conversations when customers are hit with the fees post-flight.
There will be conversations where they weren’t notified.
In other cases, they didn’t read the email.
Either way, the fees will mean going to their house in Aspen costs an extra $10,000.
At the same time, the larger FBO groups want to move to a more sophisticated operating model, according to various insiders.
A recent survey from Signature Aviation asked recipients how often they make a reservation.
It also asked what features recipients consider essential for a travel alert system.
Special event fees were listed at the top of the possible responses on the version we reviewed.
In the interim, hold onto your wallet.
Ask about special event fees, even if the dates or airports you are flying into or out of are not discernably special.
