Private jet firm expands presence at SRQ

SARASOTA — Rectrix Commercial Aviation Services, which already operates a high-end private jet service facility at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, has acquired APP Jet Center Sarasota.

Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, though Bedford, Mass.-based Rectrix paid cash for APP, according to a release. Rectrix, along with Dolphin Aviation, are now the two dominant private jet service companies at the airport.

“Rectrix has seen tremendous growth in the past year in Massachusetts and Florida,” Rectrix President and CEO Richard Cawley says in the release. “High quality customer service is at the core of every move our company makes. I am confident that this expansion will benefit our clients and provide them with more service options. In addition this growth will generate new economic development for the regions we serve.”

Rectrix is a fixed-based operator, or FBO, which means it provides general aviation services. That includes fueling planes, chartering flights, maintaining aircraft and providing storage space. The Sarasota Bradenton International Airport location, on 24 acres, has more than 180,000 square feet of aircraft hangers and passenger service facilities. The facility, further, has grown significantly over the past year.

The purchase of APP Sarasota, according to the release, will allow Rectrix to serve up to four aircrafts at a time. It will also create additional space for roughly 60-70 planes a year. “This is a transaction that is good for both parties and for the airport,” Thom Harrow, the CEO of APP, says in the statement. “For APP, it allows us to realign our assets and pursue more properties in other markets.”