American firm Flexjet, has announced that it has broken ground on a new private terminal at Farnborough Airport, its first in Europe, alongside their continuing expansion into the region. The Ohio based company has already built its European Tactical Control Center in 2019. However, this will be the first time they will offer direct flights to Europe.
Company chairman Kenn Ricci elaborates:
This development places Flexjet at the forefront of European private aviation, demonstrating the scope and scale of our international ambition and follows the exponential growth we have already achieved since we launched in Europe in 2019. […] We look forward to opening this truly exceptional space for our aircraft owners and their guests, which will combine stunning, contemporary design, with warm hospitality and a welcoming environment that they can call home each time they fly with us to and from Farnborough Airport.
The 22,600 square foot facilities are planned to include concierge services, meeting spaces, as well as exclusive artwork and a ‘mock fuselage’ lounge area. The Company also plans to move their ‘Red Label’ flight attending training to the terminal, as well as facilities for pilots. There are also plans to install 138 solar panels that are forecast to generate 37,848kW/per annum.
Flexjet’s parent company Directional Aviation also opened a ‘sales and owners hospitality space’ based in Flexjet House, Mayfair.
Who are Flexjet?
Initially founded as a division of Bombardier in 1995, the company specialises in fractional ownership, where several separate entities own an aircraft. By 1998, Flexjet had 41 aircraft and served more than two hundred clients. By 2002, that had risen to 650 aircraft and 3,500 owners, making up about one sixth of the total fractional ownership model. A decade later in September 2013, the company was bought by Directional Aviation, and one year later it exited the charter market entirely, focusing on fractional programmes.
Red Label was formed in 2015 following the opening of Flexjet’s first private terminal in Naples Florida, along with further facilities in West Palm Beach and New York. The building of the company’s European Tactical Control Centre was Flexjet’s first non-U.S. based project, and was evidently part of a wider strategy of further expand is European operations.
For more information visit Flexjet.