2019 Airport Business Top 40 Under 40: John C. Bridi

When John Bridi was 8 years old, one experience on a family trip to Europe changed his life.

Bridi was on a Boeing 747 en route to Europe, when a flight attendant took him to the cockpit and got a glimpse of how the plane worked.

“I was transatlantic at night in the cockpit of a 747-400 and my eyes just lit up,” he said. “I wanted to touch everything and fly the plane.”

Bridi started his aviation career at a young age working at a private Gliderport. A few years later he transitioned into the FBO world and has worked every position from line service and customer service to back of the house human resouces, accounting and management.

He has also provided consulting services on FBO operations with an emphasis in establishing both front and back of house procedures.

In 2013, Bridi joined Million Air as the general manager of Million Air Houston which is the corporate headquarters of the network. He has expanded his role to include opening and training international locations in Colombia and Canada, and later moving to Beijing for 14 months to head the FBO’s joint venture at Beijing Capital International Airport.

While in Beijing, Bridi initiated the roll out of Million Air service standards of as a part of the brand transition with CJET and delivered multiple training events to more than 150 employees as a part of the Million Air program.

Upon returning from China, he joined the business development team and focused on domestic and international support and growth.

When Hurricane Harvey struck Houston, Bridi took the lead on maintaining the FBO’s continuous operation supporting the National Guard and Coast Guard in life-saving missions. Shortly after, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico and Bridi part of the response team supporting the FBO and its employees for five weeks providing 24/7 operations and establishing fuel supply and support for the military, government, private companies and citizens supporting the hurricane relief efforts at Roosevelt Roads Airport, Ceiba.

Bridi now spends his time between business development and supporting the FBO network. He is instrumental in opening new locations, provisioning equipment and training and transitioning new teams and managers.