Ocean Aviation has acquired National Jets, the fixed-base operator at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in South Florida, in its first facility purchase as it builds a regional FBO platform backed by Kennedy Lewis Investment Management. National Jets will continue to operate while Ocean Aviation prepares to begin redevelopment at the airport, where the operator is expanding its footprint alongside a separate project at Miami Executive Airport.
National Jets has served Fort Lauderdale for nearly 80 years and operates from an 8,000-square-foot terminal with 22,000 square feet of hangar space. The site had previously been tied to a broader expansion plan that called for $70 million in additional hangars and a new terminal. Ocean Aviation’s move gives the newcomer another position at a major business aviation gateway while it develops a South Florida network of FBO assets.
The group was also awarded a 40-year lease for a new FBO at Miami Executive Airport, where plans call for a $67 million complex with a terminal, fuel farm and as much as 400,000 square feet of hangar space. The Fort Lauderdale acquisition extends that strategy into an established airport market with limited premium ground infrastructure and strong demand for hangar and terminal capacity.