AeroPremier provides general aviation services at New Orleans Lakefront Airport in Louisiana. (Photo/Hawthorne Global Aviation Services)

Staff Report
Published July 25, 2012

A Charleston-based general aviation services company has acquired a controlling interest of a fixed based operator for private jets in New Orleans.

AeroPremier, which provides general aviation services at New Orleans Lakefront Airport, will come under the brand of Hawthorne Global Aviation Services’ network of fixed based operators, or FBOs. The AeroPremier site has more than 50,000 square feet of hangar space to accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Gulfstream 550.

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Hawthorne is a general aviation services company founded in 1932. The company has been involved in many aspects of the aviation industry throughout its history. Moelis Capital Partners and Hawthorne Corp. formed Hawthorne Global Aviation Services in November 2011.

“The newly renovated facility provides a first class gateway to New Orleans and is only 15 minutes from the heart of the city,” said Hawthorne President and CEO Steven Levesque about the acquisition. “We are pleased to have been able to add such a great facility on a major general aviation airport as our initial presence on the Gulf Coast.”

Over the last year, AeroPremier conducted extensive renovations of the hangars and general aviation terminal at the Lakefront Airport FBO, the company said. The facility reopened in February featuring new flight planning, new hospitality and conference rooms, and expanded pilot amenities including sleep rooms and private showers.