New FBO Operator Ocean Aviation Acquires National Jets at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
Why It MattersNew capital entering FBO ownership is now pairing acquisitions with ground-up development, signaling that South Florida's private aviation gateways are becoming a proving ground for scaled, investor-backed operators.
What happened
Ocean Aviation, a newly founded fixed-base operator backed by Kennedy Lewis Investment Management, has acquired National Jets, one of four FBOs at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (KFLL). The deal marks Ocean Aviation's first facility acquisition.
National Jets has been in operation for nearly 80 years and features an 8,000-sq-ft terminal and 22,000 sq ft of hangar space. In 2024, the FBO announced a $70 million expansion project to add 150,000 sq ft of hangars and a new terminal, and Ocean Aviation's new ownership intends to begin that development immediately.
Separately, Ocean Aviation has been awarded a 40-year lease to build a new FBO at Miami Executive Airport (KTMB). The planned $67 million complex will include a terminal, fuel farm, and up to 400,000 sq ft of community and private hangars, and will provide a new home for the Wings Over Miami Air Museum. Construction on that project is expected to begin this month.
Ocean Aviation chairman Romain Grosjean said, "This is a market we believe in deeply, and we will invest in the facility, the team, and the experience accordingly. Combined with our development at Miami Executive Airport, Ocean Aviation is now developing two of the premier private aviation gateways in South Florida, with a clear mandate to set a new standard for the FBO experience in this market."
Industry impact & what to watch
This case fits how private-equity-backed platforms have been entering FBO ownership: buy an established operator with land and lease rights already in place, then layer new capital onto expansion plans that were already announced but not yet funded. National Jets' $70 million expansion had been on the table since 2024; the acquisition supplies the balance sheet to execute it rather than the concept itself.
FBO economics in a market like South Florida depend heavily on hangar and terminal capacity relative to based and transient jet traffic, so simultaneous projects at two airports test whether a single owner can staff, fuel, and service both sites to the standard it is promising without diluting either. Holding a 40-year ground lease at Miami Executive alongside an acquired, already-operating facility at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood gives Ocean Aviation two different starting points for the same strategy.
What happens next depends on construction timelines at both sites — Miami Executive is expected to break ground this month, while the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood expansion is said to begin immediately — and on whether Ocean Aviation makes further acquisitions at the other FBOs operating at KFLL.
