Universal Aviation rebrands as Affinity Aviation, with phased rollout through 2027
Why It MattersGround-handling and FBO networks are consolidating their identity while adding hangars and terminals in new regions, which ties their market position to physical general aviation infrastructure rather than to the brand alone.
What happened
Universal Aviation has rebranded as Affinity Aviation. The Evans family will continue to own and lead the company, and the transition will be rolled out in phases across the network throughout 2027.
Greg Evans, managing principal of Evans Family Office, said the new name represents where the business is heading: building on its existing success while continuing to raise the bar on safety and customer experience, investing in people and operations, strengthening existing locations, developing new capabilities and expanding general aviation infrastructure where customers need it. Sarah Evans, principal at Evans Family Office, led the brand development with input from across the organisation. She said the process began by listening to customers, employees and the market, and that the name Affinity reflects the idea that exceptional ground support is personal.
Customers will first see Affinity across the company's digital channels from the launch, followed over time by operational communications, facility signage and uniforms. During the transition, Universal Aviation and Affinity Aviation may appear together at certain locations and in industry systems; the phased approach is intended to maintain continuity.
Affinity Aviation's network spans more than 75 locations across more than 20 countries. In Saudi Arabia, the company recently began operations at the new general aviation terminal in Dammam, the first of three operations in the Kingdom. Jeddah will follow with an approximately 108,000sqft private aviation hangar and full-service ground handling, while Riyadh will add a private aviation lounge and ground handling operation. A centralised Saudi Arabia Operational Control Center will coordinate support across the Kingdom.
In Spain, construction is underway on an approximately 53,800sqft hangar at Madrid-Barajas Airport, which will become the country's first dedicated general aviation hangar facility and will accommodate aircraft up to BBJ size. In Mexico, the company worked with local partners to open a new FBO and hangar complex in Guadalajara ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup; the 362,000sqft facility includes a 51,700sqft general aviation hangar. Affinity is also upgrading facilities in Milan and Paris, revamping lounge facilities in Venezuela, and has recently expanded in the Dominican Republic.
Industry impact & what to watch
A rebrand of a ground-handling and FBO network matters less for the name than for what the owner pairs it with. Here the new identity arrives alongside concrete capacity: a terminal already operating in Dammam, hangars planned or under construction in Jeddah and Madrid, and a complex opened in Guadalajara. For a business sold on consistency of service across many airports, that pairing signals that growth is being pursued through facilities and locations rather than through the label.
Phased rebrands in this segment tend to run in parallel with the old identity because ground services are embedded in operator workflows. Handling requests, flight-planning platforms and industry directories all reference the existing name, and a staged rollout keeps those references valid while the new one is introduced. Customers and operators will, in practice, see both names side by side at some locations for a period.
The next checkpoints are the ones the company has already tied to dates and sites: the progression from digital channels to signage and uniforms through 2027, the Jeddah and Riyadh operations that follow Dammam, and completion of the Madrid-Barajas hangar.
