TAG Farnborough Airport is no stranger to NBAA shows, said Brandon O’Reilly, who has now been in the CEO post for more than eight years. And this year he comes with good news from Europe, with a 6-percent improvement in business over the past 10 months, he added, “for the first time since 2008.”
One factor stands out, said O’Reilly, and that is “corporate America is traveling again.” Also, he said, “the mix of aircraft has surprisingly continued to grow at the top end, more than I predicted, with more BBJs and ACJs and Globals and so forth. [Owners of] large aircraft types from the U.S., Middle East [and elsewhere] see Farnborough as a good place to operate.”
The airport has been working on further infrastructure improvements, on top of those in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics. “Our infrastructure is virtually complete,” he said. “We’ve moved into Meadowgate, a building we bought and refurbished, so that has freed up space for more passenger lounges, which will help with the number of large aircraft we’re seeing now. Our terminal was originally designed about eight years ago for smaller business jets.” Feedback from visiting flight crew has also lead to TAG adding a gym, thanks to the new space becoming available.
Change to Airspace
Another project that absorbs a great deal of O’Reilly’s time is the proposed change to the airspace over the airfield, which unlike many other airports in the UK has no Class D airspace, only an ATZ. “We’re in the process of doing that; it will be more efficient and safer too,” he explained. Feedback from the public is in, so the next stage is a “CAA-driven process to submit a formal proposal some time in the New Year.”
Alongside its Meadowgate headquarters building, TAG has established a new entrance on the northeast side of the airport, so that the existing entrance (on the northwest side of the main runway 6-24 at Ively Gate) will be “dedicated to employees and deliveries.” The new customer entrance, for which the road was just being laid when AIN visited in mid-September, will be easier to access and smarter, with “high tech touchscreen security.” This all comes back to speed, said O’Reilly. “Sixty percent of our visitors don’t use our terminal building at all and go straight to their aircraft; they want to be airborne as quickly as possible.” The same applies when they land, travelers want to be on their way. “Those that do use the terminal don’t want duty free, they want a comfortable, serene, quiet place to sit and to know the aircraft is close by. And the crew want similar, and a functional area to do their flight prep.”
Meanwhile, TAG has also been acquiring land to extend the size of the airfield, with the possibility of adding a maintenance facility for larger aircraft under the auspices of the existing TAG Farnborough Engineering operation. “We have consent for an 87,000-square-foot engineering hangar near the airshow site,” said O’Reilly.
“We’ve exhibited at NBAA every year in the past eight,” he said. “It’s the biggest show of its type in the world, and we use it to engage with the flight departments.”
Go Charter
TAG Aviation has more than 120 aircraft under management in Europe and 44 in Asia, Graham Williamson, TAG Aviation president Aircraft Management and Charter Services, told AIN last month.
But while he is excited about this fleet, which consist mainly of large-cabin business jets (five G650s, 27 Globals, 13 Falcon 7Xs and many others), a new project to offer a Boeing 757-200ER–to be available for charter–is a real focus right now, especially for the NBAA show and the U.S. market.
“We entered into a contract with TCS Expeditions,” he said. “The aircraft was painted in Manchester and is now [mid-September] in Birmingham with Zodiac [Aerospace] having new sidewalls, refurbished toilets and so on fitted. It will also have leather seats and will be available in either a 58- or 72-seat configuration. The contract has a term of six years starting in January 2015.
“We wanted to create a new product, something really special. It will also have high-end catering and Ku-band Wi-Fi [satcom].” The aircraft is to be based at the Monarch Airlines hangar at Luton Airport.
Williamson said TAG Aviation is emphasizing the 757 project at the NBAA show partly because of the U.S. partners that are involved (for example, Boeing and Zodiac) but also because it is a key market for potential customers. He added that the TAG Charter Services does not intend to stop with just one of the big Boeings. “The intention is to grow the fleet, with a second and third aircraft through 2015 and 2016,” Williamson told AIN. “The 757 has enormous potential to develop a new market.”
TAG Aviation is also the European dealer for the HondaJet and has its first demonstration aircraft arriving “in the spring of next year,” said Williamson. Meanwhile, it has other success stories, such as its CASE safety information sharing system, which now has 60 members with EBAA now showing interest, and the new Non-Commercial Complex rules from EASA, which Williamson hopes will provide scope for assisting other, smaller operators with compliance issues.
TAG Farnborough Airport allowances following granting of new planning permission in 2011:
Year
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Total
28,000
31,000
37,000
41,000
43,000
45,000
47,000
48,000
49,000
50,000
Weekend
5,000
5,500
6,600
7,300
7,600
8,000
8,250
8,500
8,750
8,900
Total air traffic movements (ATMs) by year:
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
27,061 24,262 25,112 25,027 24,895 24,761
2013 vs 2011 ATMs by weight category: (think this could be a bar graph, maybe?? Mary
Under 12,500 kgs: down 10%
12,500-19,999 kgs: down 17%
20,000-29,999 kgs: up 28%
30,000-49,999 kgs: up 17%
50,000-80,000 kgs (BBJ, ACJ): up 57%
