B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 2 - (Page 54)

N B A A 2 0 07 continued from page 52 away, and operator PremiAir is looking for an extra London site suitable for helicopter operations development. A slot system was introduced in August and it’s definitely first come first served; even PremiAir’s own charter helicopters aren’t prioritized. PremiAir says it has worked out monthly movement numbers based on historic busy and slack times, and has determined how many aircraft it can allow in each day and week to stay within the capped annual limit. PremiAir is part of von Essen Hotels, which bought the freehold of the London (Battersea) Heliport in February, plus adjacent land that is to be the site of a 14-story, five star, hotel. The heliport’s final approach and take-off area is to be reconfigured to allow larger machines, such as the AW139 and BA609 tilt rotor. Both heliport and hotel projects are due to be completed by early 2009. PremiAir’s main helicopter maintenance base is at Blackbushe Airport, close to Farnborough, and claims to be “Europe’s largest executive helicopter aftermarket service provider.” maker. It is accredited on Bombardier Challenger and Global Express aircraft. The company also has engineers to back-up Hawker 800 maintenance. The engineering team can provide AOG support both on and off base. However, due to the fact that the airport’s future strategic expansion plan was scrapped recently, all future expansion will have to occur within existing airport boundaries. London Stansted Hours of operation: 24hrs. Distance from London West End: 37miles*. All three of Stansted’s FBOs are based on the north side, away from the bustle and congestion of the main terminal complex, and none have an aircraft parking problem. Probably best known is Harrods Aviation FBO, famed for its specialist handling of ultra large VVIP aircraft. Recently the company handled three Boeing 777s in a day, and is averaging 25-30 movements per day. The smallest aircraft are now mainly Gulfstream and Global Express, and Harrods regards BBJs as “mid-size” aircraft now. Harrods engineering is based here and at Luton, and is both Bombardier and Sikorsky service centers. Inflite The Jet Center FBO is in the process of upgrading its two lounges, one of which holds up to 120 people and is used for transporting major football teams around Europe, and a smaller 15-passenger VIP lounge. The company says that it has been picking up some business from over-crowded Luton and points out that it’s only five minutes flying time between the two airports. Slots aren’t a problem except after 11 pm, and this is the same for all operators here. Universal Aviation UK reports no problems with slots. The passenger terminal has comfortable passenger and crew lounges and an extensive flight planning operation. Northolt Hours of operation: PPR winter 08.0020.00, summer 07.00 - 19.00. Distance from London West End: 13 miles*. Royal Air Force Northolt, famous for its VIP governmental and military flights, is naturally very high-security minded and is therefore technically ideal for civilian business aviation operations. The snag is that its civil movements are capped by local by-laws to 7,000 annually. It is a NetJets preferred airfield and has rights to a certain number of annual movements associated with its hangar and based aircraft. Slots are so tight that NetJets has had to prioritize movements internally, favoring its London Luton Hours of operation: PPR 24hrs. Distance from London West End: 32 miles*. London Luton airport is currently the UK’s busiest business aviation airport, with two competing FBOs making up a total of 27,058 movements last year. It is a very popular airport for transatlantic business aviation flights because of its fast motorway link. But it is fast running out of parking space on the two FBO’s ramps, with both Signature Flight Support and Harrods Aviation having to reject some incoming aircraft due to ramp congestion. Gulfstream Aerospace bases its northern/southern European sales office at the company’s aircraft service center at Luton Airport, and this attracts even more traffic. Harrods Aircraft Maintenance is based here and is another traffic 54 fractional owners rather than its block hours members. Northolt’s popularity is its fast road access to London for the high-net-worth Chelsea set. Demand far outweighs supply here. Slots are available but at a price. London City Airport’s Jet Centre took over the handling at Northolt in mid-2006 and named the operation Northolt Jet Centre Premier Passenger Service (PPS). This is London City’s only operation away from its Docklands base. London City executives say they have had consultations with airport owners, the UK’s Ministry of Defense and Northolt Local Authorities, to try and get the movement’s cap lifted. In recent weeks, as a security measure, the MOD has banned limos from picking up passengers and baggage directly from the aircraft. With a runway of about 5,524 ft, the airport can accept corporate aircraft up to, and including, Boeing and Airbus Business Jets, but with no more than 30 seats. Single engine aircraft are excluded, but helicopters accepted. Slot requests must be made through RAF Advance Tasking, while extensions and weekend movements are subject to RAF approval and will incur additional costs. * Distances calculated on www.theaa.com from London W1 to postcode of airport. —Mike Vines London Luton, despite having two FBOs, is turning aircraft away for a lack of concrete. September 26, 2007 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.theaa.com http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 2

Contents Spectrum Stresses Freedom Adam Shows A700 Cabin User Fee War of Words Execujet Boosts Services Saab's Got Your Back CAE Covers the Field London Airports Roundup Pratt & Whitney Canada Another Show! A More Digital Jeppesen CMC Rides Bizjet Wave Thales Weighs In We Fly the Eclipse 500

B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 2

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