FlyMeNow opens new Farnborough base

TAG Farnborough Airport terminal and hangars

FlyMeNow has opened its newest permanent base at Farnborough Airport.

TAG Farnborough Airport terminal and hangars

UK-based private jet and helicopter charter company FlyMeNow has opened a new base at Farnborough Airport to cope with increased demand for charters.

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Although FlyMeNow started operations from the north of the UK, the company has also taken the opportunity to move its headquarters to Farnborough Airport.

The new base will mean that the team is on-hand to meet and greet many of its passengers prior to boarding their Aircraft, ensuring that all their requirements are met before flying.

“TAG Farnborough Airport is the perfect base for those looking for easy, stress-free and quick access into the heart of our Capital” said Andrew Whitney, commercial director of FlyMeNow. “Its ‘Car-to-Aircraft’ service and minimal distance from London makes this airport the go-to choice for so many travellers. At FlyMeNow we are excited to start this next chapter of our growing business and to see what amazing opportunities we will gain being based at this world renowned airport.”

Corporate Jet Investor spoke to Whitney about the company’s new base:

What made you decide to move to Farnborough, rather than any of the other London airports?

“The decision was easy. TAG Farnborough is an award-winning airport like no other. Exclusively for business aviation, the airport offers a five-star experience for those that travel to or from it, unlike any other airport in the UK.

“At the heart of FlyMeNow’s ethos is the exemplary service we seek to offer to our clients and so by basing ourselves at the airport, we are able to meet and greet our clients ahead of boarding their Aircraft, ensuring that all their requirements are met before flying and likewise, on returning, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable onwards journey. This direct and personal service is key to FlyMeNow’s customer service approach and just isn’t something so easy to implement at the other London airports.

“We have a substantial client base that only wish to use Farnborough, therefore for us to base ourselves at the airport, with its reputation going hand-in-hand with the wishes and requirements of current and also future clients to FlyMeNow.

Has does the charter market compare this year to previous years? Has there been much of an upturn?

“Over the past couple of years we have noticed a positive shift and uplift in the market. The number of enquiries we received and our subsequent bookings increased significantly compared to last year.

“It seems alongside an upturn in general spending as economies across the world recover, people’s perceptions of private aviation is changing too. The social-demographic cross-section of clients that book a charter today seem to be evolving and it seems they have a completely different outlook to those of five or so years ago.

“We believe that individual clients as well as businesses are wising up to the cost of sharing aircraft, they are also wising up to the huge benefits that out-weigh the perils of commercial airline travel. Dependent on the destination and booking, choosing a private jet or helicopter charter is often the smarter and more efficient way to travel, which is definitely having an effect on the whole market.

What’s the split between companies and individuals that are chartering aircraft from you?

“This is rather dependent on the time of year as of course during the summer, across Europe, we perform a proportionally higher number of charters for individuals and small groups heading away on short breaks, holidays, or to many of the events of the summer season.”

Has that changed much over the course of the last five years?

“Whether it’s to attend an international music or sports event, to go on holiday or just to visit friends or family in another country, more people are now choosing private charter and they are wising up to the possibility of chartering aircraft by splitting the costs with others.

“Many of our leisure passengers have taken advantage of our Empty Leg service, which is something we have really started to push this year in response to the demand from clients. It is the evolution of such services that have become increasingly significant as potential clients become more aware of private travel and become savvier in their spending.

“Taking a look at our business clients, private charter is still and will always be an essential choice for business passengers, as it offers executives with hectic schedules an easy and sometimes the only solution when looking to attend meetings abroad. With the exception of cost of course, the benefits of private charter for business passengers will always outweigh commercial travel but having said that some face to face meetings only made possible via a private flight are priceless.”

What makes FlyMeNow different to PrivateFly, Stratajet etc?

“Our key focus is the level of service that we provide our clients. Creating a personal experience for our passengers is at the heart of everything we do; each booking is tailored to the requirements of the clients to create an easy and stress-free travel solution. Whilst we might not be one of the biggest private charter companies, we do believe that we are the only private aviation company to offer such a personal and dedicated level of service and our recent move to TAG Farnborough will only add to this.

“Many other charter companies are focusing on the evolution of low cost, on-line booking platforms. FlyMeNow has always offered cost estimations for given routes via our website, however with many of our clients, their demands go beyond a simple from and to flight. Therefore we encourage the traditional way of brokering whereby we assess a client’s requirements in full, we talk through all of our clients options and we actively make recommendations based on our extensive experience of the private charter industry.

“It is this level of service that FlyMeNow clients seek and after all, private charter is not cheap so we believe we owe our clients the dedication to each booking that they deserve.”