TAC Air Expands West of the Rockies

Truman Arnold Companies has signed an agreement to acquire controlling interest in Keystone Aviation, LLC of Salt Lake City, UT and will rebrand the company’s Salt Lake City (KSLC) and Provo (KPVU) fixed base operations TAC Air. The transition is scheduled to go into effect May 23rd. Terms and structure of the agreement were not released.

According to Greg Arnold, president and CEO of Truman Arnold Companies, “We’re very excited about the synergy of combining the service levels of these operations.” Both Salt Lake City and Provo fixed base operations have received numerous awards over the years. Awards include Netjets naming the SLC location ‘FBO of the Year for 2011’ and Professional Pilot’s PRASE survey ranking it within the top 1 percent of individual location FBOs. TAC Air continues to be named one of the top FBO chains in industry surveys.

“This move brings many positive things to the users of SLC and PVU, as well as the other TAC Air locations,” stated TAC Air VP & COO Christian Sasfai. “We’re going to deliver the best of both operations to our customers in the 14 markets we serve.”

Other Keystone Aviation subsidiaries, including aircraft charter and management, aircraft maintenance, and new & used aircraft sales will be consolidated under the Keystone Aviation brand. Industry veteran Bill Haberstock will lead the newly branded Keystone Aviation in the role of president, with all key sales and support personnel remaining intact. “The integration of Keystone Aviation’s FBOs into TAC Air along with the backing of Truman Arnold Companies will allow us to place a renewed focus on our aircraft sales, maintenance and management services,” stated Haberstock.

Sasfai also commented on how the arrangement reflects a growing national trend in general aviation services, stating, “consolidation and resource sharing has become a necessary component of today’s aviation services industry in order to provide high quality, low cost products and services to aircraft owners and operators.” Meanwhile, TAC Air is actively pursuing other expansion opportunities and expects to announce more acquisitions this year.

(5.22.12)