The Real Estate Asset Class Hidden in Plain Sight at Every Major Airport

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

02 Jun 2026

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Somewhere between real estate and aviation infrastructure lies a market that most investors have never considered. Aircraft hangars at business aviation airports represent a niche but growing asset class, and Sky Harbour Group Corporation is one of the few companies systematically developing it at scale. With 22 ground leases secured across the United States and a pipeline targeting roughly 200 airports, the company is building what it describes as an entirely new sub-sector within real estate and infrastructure.

The timing matters. Modern business aircraft are getting larger, rendering much of the country’s existing hangar stock functionally obsolete. Meanwhile, demand for private aviation continues to grow, driven by manufacturer backlogs that predate the pandemic and a wave of new entrants offering quasi-commercial private flight services. The result is a widening gap between available infrastructure and what the market needs, one that Sky Harbour is positioning itself to fill.

The business model is straightforward in concept, though operationally complex. Sky Harbour secures long-term ground leases at airports serving business aviation, applies a standardized hangar campus design, oversees construction, and then leases the completed facilities to a mix of individual aircraft owners, corporate flight departments, charter operators, and government clients. Lease terms typically run one to ten years. From breaking ground to opening, the process takes about 14 months.

A Banker Turned Developer

Francisco Gonzalez, Sky Harbour’s CFO, came to this role after nearly three decades in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and RBC, where he advised on airport infrastructure bond deals. That institutional knowledge shaped how the company approaches its capital structure. When Sky Harbour executed its first bond deal five years ago, Gonzalez designed it to resonate with fixed-income investors by addressing the structural protections they prioritize. A second bond deal closed in early 2026 and drew significant interest.

The company has been publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYH for roughly four and a half years. Gonzalez notes that the transparency required of a public company has become a competitive advantage in winning airport ground leases and attracting tenants. “That level of disclosure has actually made it easier for us to prosecute our business,” he says.

What Makes a Campus Work Financially

When underwriting a new location, construction costs are relatively predictable and vary only modestly across geographies. The variable that drives the investment decision is rent.

The spread is wide. At Sky Harbour’s San Jose, California campus, rents reach approximately $80 per square foot. At some Texas locations, they sit in the low $20s. That gap drives the company’s site selection strategy, which focuses on markets with meaningful scarcity of hangar space and the pricing power that comes with it.

Ground lease acquisition is the other critical constraint. Of the roughly 200 airports Sky Harbour considers relevant to its strategy, the company currently holds 22 leases. The target is to add four to six new leases per year, though some of those in the current pipeline have been in negotiation for five years. “They have long gestation periods, and we have the patience,” Gonzalez says.

The Structural Case for Demand

The bear case for the sector is that hangar supply will eventually catch up to demand, compressing rents and returns. Gonzalez pushes back on this, pointing to a structural mismatch he believes will persist. Modern business aircraft from manufacturers like Gulfstream and Bombardier are being built taller and larger than previous generations, but much of the existing hangar stock was constructed to older specifications. The tail height of newer planes simply exceeds what legacy facilities can accommodate.

Retrofitting is not a practical solution. These hangars are steel structures that cannot simply have their roofs raised – they must be demolished and rebuilt entirely. This means a meaningful portion of the current supply is functionally obsolete for the newest aircraft, even where physical space exists. Sky Harbour builds to current and anticipated aircraft dimensions, which Gonzalez sees as a durable competitive position.

It is worth noting that Sky Harbour is not the only company operating in this space. Fixed-base operators, airport authorities, and private developers all compete for hangar tenants. What distinguishes Sky Harbour’s approach is its standardized campus model and its focus on development rather than acquisition of existing facilities.

Geographic Sequencing

The company’s expansion reveals how business aviation infrastructure follows different logic than commercial real estate. Sky Harbour began in markets like Denver, Phoenix, Miami, and Nashville, not in the densest metro areas, which might seem like the obvious starting point.

New York illustrates why. Teterboro, New Jersey, the primary business aviation gateway to Manhattan, has virtually no available space. Aircraft owners based in the New York area must hangar their planes at surrounding airports. Sky Harbour currently has or is developing locations in Poughkeepsie and Stewart in New York, Trenton in New Jersey, and Hartford in Connecticut. A plane based in Hartford might fly into Teterboro to pick up a principal who lives in Manhattan, then return. The infrastructure demand is regional, not strictly local.

Florida, Texas, and California remain core focus states alongside the New York expansion.

Tenants and the Campus Experience

Sky Harbour’s tenant profile differs from a typical fixed-base operator. The core tenant is an individual aircraft owner or lessee, often supported by a third-party flight management company. Many tenants build out additional office and lounge space within their hangar, treating it as a secondary workspace. Corporate flight departments with multiple aircraft, government agencies, and a limited number of charter operators round out the mix.

Gonzalez is deliberate about limiting charter operator traffic. The emphasis is on privacy, security, and a controlled environment rather than high throughput. “We want our campuses to be quiet, serene, where our tenants get the best service available in business aviation,” he says. That positioning supports tenant retention and justifies premium pricing.

Reaching Profitability and What Comes Next

Sky Harbour reached EBITDA breakeven in 2025. Gonzalez describes this as a turning point in the company’s relationship with investors: every new dollar of equity now goes directly into development rather than covering operating losses. As the campus portfolio scales, the company expects margins to widen further.

For investors tracking this space, the company’s public filings provide an unusually transparent window into how airport ground lease infrastructure performs as an asset class. Whether the structural demand thesis holds over time, and whether four to six new leases per year proves achievable at scale, will determine whether aircraft hangars become a recognized institutional asset class or remain a niche strategy pursued by a small number of operators.

About the Expert: Francisco Gonzalez is CFO of Sky Harbour Group Corporation (NYSE: SKYH), a publicly listed company developing aircraft hangar campuses at business aviation airports across the United States. He joined after nearly three decades in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and RBC, where he advised on airport infrastructure bond transactions.

This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.