Signature Flight Support Acquires Historic Meridian FBOs

FBO network Signature Flight Support, with more than 200 locations in 27 countries worldwide, announced this week it has completed its acquisition of Meridian’s two facilities at Teterboro Airport (KTEB) nearby New York City in New Jersey and Hayward Airport (KHWD) in California. Originally established at Teterboro by World War II Army pilot J. Kenneth Forester Sr., Meridian started out as Mallard Air Service selling and maintaining North American Seabee amphibians and Navion high-performance piston singles. Known as “Ken Sr.” to distinguish him from his son with the same name, Forester served as an engineering test pilot flying bombers, transports and fighters during his military career, including the Bell P-59, the nation’s first jet aircraft.

Ken Forester Jr., an Air Force Academy graduate and F-102 fighter pilot, took over management of the family business in 1974. Mallard became a Million Air franchise in 1986 and launched Meridian as an independent business entity in 2006. The elder Forester died in 2016 at age 94.

Ken Jr. said of the Signature deal, “We embarked on this journey having a strong sense of which company would best build on the incredible legacy we’ve created, delivering award-winning service to our customers and treating our team members like family. Signature is best positioned to do just that.”

Tony Lefebvre, Signature CEO, said, “Meridian has a phenomenal history of exceptional service that we look forward to preserving and leveraging across our network.”