FBO Management Course

April 22, 2013
The Fundamentals of FBO Management course will be available this fall.

As you may remember, several months ago I asked for Ground Support Worldwide readers’ help in preparing an FBO management program.

As president of the Independent Fixed Base Operators Association, I had heard over and over from our members of the difficulty to recruit supervisors and managers with the knowledge and skills necessary to supervise and manage an FBO operation.

To that end, we asked Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in NY – where I am an adjunct professor - to develop FBO courses that would lead to a certificate in FBO management.


A number of you responded to my request for help by posting comments on this Web site or on LinkedIn or emailing me directly. All were very helpful, some particularly thorough, outlining in detail what you believe would help ramp employees become successful FBO supervisors and managers. I cannot thank you enough for your input.

Now, I am happy to inform you that the first course has been developed. The Fundamentals of FBO Management course will be an introduction to the basics of FBO management, with an emphasis on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully manage an FBO. The content will focus on the practical application of FBO management skills. It will be offered for the first time by Vaughn College for the fall semester.

The course will be available both as an online course and as a hybrid course (a mix of online and in-person classes, which are scheduled for Fridays at 9 a.m.). I will be co-teaching some of the in-person classes. You do not have to be a student at Vaughn to enroll in the course. (An FBO Management Certificate is still being developed, but this course will be one of the required courses for that certificate.)

If you are interested in taking the course or would like more information, such as admission criteria, credits and costs, please contact David E. Griffey, Jr. at [email protected].