Expansion, Consolidation Hit Europe
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26 Aviation International News • www.ainonline.com November 2003 week” for an FBO acquisition or in- vestment opportunity, CEO Roger McMullin said that the group cur- rently has no strategic plans for fur- ther European expansion. This is largely because TAG’s management is still busy with the ongoing multi- million-dollar redevelopment ofcontinued from preceding page the Farnborough site. Len Rayment, TAG’s director of FBO operations at Farnborough, noted that he does not expect to see major new FBO devel- opments and acquisitions around Eu- rope because “it is difficult to see how profitable expansion can take place.” As a major executive charter op- erator, TAG is also a significant con- AVIATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS sumer of handling services in Europe and, as an American with several years of experience in Eu- European FBO rope, McMullin himself is well placed to comment on FBO stan- dards. He told AIN that service REPORT standards at European bases have, for the most part, improved in recent TAG Aviation’s business aviation gateway at Farnborough Airport has been fully open since May. years, while the infrastructure avail- The company is operating the London-area airport under a 99-year lease. able to business-aviation users has continued to lag behind–even at 2003 some of Europe’s most modern air- ports such as Milan Malpensa. Swissport Spreads Its Wings Expansion, consolidation hit Europe Joint ventures and other forms of partnership have provided ways and means for companies to spread the BY CHARLES ALCOCK financial risk of FBO expansion while finding ways to circumvent the ecovering traffic levels sights, Haskins said that all fit the in the lucrative London market by FBO owners to sell because they do difficulties of actually getting access are driving desire for group’s standard expansion criteria acquiring the well respected Magec not have deep enough pockets for to key airport locations in Europe. both expansion and of being major business cities, finan- Aviation FBO from the Lynton the required investments. Swissport is a classic case in consolidation in the Eu- cial capitals or upscale resort areas. Group, as well as Osprey Aviation at Strong branding continues to be point. Now owned by UK invest- R ropean market for busi- She admitted that Brussels–the Bel- Southampton Airport on the south an important goal for Signature, and ment group Candover, the former ness-aircraft handling services. But gian capital and home to the Euro- coast of England. Soon afterward it this has been physically achieved at handling division of the near-bank- at the same time bureaucratic and pean Commission–was considered bought the former Air Luxor facility the Luton, Paris and Southampton rupt flag carrier Swiss has estab- market-access restrictions at many but has now been ruled out due to at Paris Le Bourget Airport. bases. By year-end the group intends lished FBO alliances at Geneva of the continent’s airports continue restricted airport infrastructure and Last year Signature’s empire to extend its staff-training programs through the PrivatPort joint venture to hamper moves to open new FBOs the strength of long-established builders started work on a prospec- into Europe, although Haskins with PrivatAir, London Heathrow or take control of existing facilities. FBO Abelag Aviation. Frankfurt– tive new FBO development at Tou- stressed that this will by no means be (with Harrods Aviation) and Nice- And yet despite these opportu- Germany’s main financial center–is lon Airport in the south of France. a one-way re-education process ema- Cote d’Azur Airport (with Universal nity inhibitors, several business-avi- understood to be one location under This deal has now been in the works nating from North America. “In many Aviation). ation service groups are now actively consideration, although this has not for more than 18 months and re- respects, our European colleagues With the exception of the Privat- preparing to build or extend their been officially confirmed. cently hit fresh legal obstacles over have a lot to teach us about service,” Port facility in Geneva, the com- FBO networks in Europe. Several “We would prefer to expand local government approval for the she concluded. For example, Signa- pany’s business-aviation handling have indicated to AIN that they in- through full ownership of facilities, construction work. ture Luton boasts the lowest ground- activities are largely carried out tend to complete fresh acquisitions, but such opportunities are few and Despite the difficulties encoun- incident (ramp rash) rate of any FBO under the Swissport Executive Avia- mergers and partnerships over the far between in Europe,” Haskins tered to date, Haskins said that, once in the company’s network. tion (SEA) brand name and extend next 12 months. Others are much said. She indicated that some of the the right location can be found, beyond Europe to locations such as less convinced that the time is yet half-dozen expansion targets being Europe can actually prove to be a TAG Sets Out Its Store São Paulo, Brazil. The company also right for the cycle of restructuring evaluated would entail buying fully more competitive marketplace for Another potential FBO chain offers handling for business aircraft and consolidation that many view as fledged FBOs, while others would prospective new entrants than the builder in Europe is TAG Aviation, through the Swissport worldwide inevitable in the sector. amount to some sort of more limited U.S. Her feeling is that, just as a which now owns facilities at the Lon- network of airline handlers, as well as According to Terry Yeomans, UK presence at an airport–perhaps part- new wave of costly environmental don-area Farnborough Airport (which through independent affiliate FBOs, representative for flight-planning nerships with other companies. One regulations drove FBO consolida- it operates under a 99-year lease from such as PrivatAir at Paris Le Bour- group Air Routing International, criterion for prospective new Signa- tion in the U.S., a similar trend the UK government), at Geneva in get and the Harrods Aviation bases at there is a good prima facie case for ture bases is that they should not (made more intense by tough new Switzerland and at Berlin’s down- London Luton and Stansted Airports. expanding FBO networks in Europe, burden the group with hefty new security requirements) will likely town Tempelhof Airport. Despite the SEA is now actively looking to but figuring out how to achieve this overheads. Among the sites being force some of Europe’s independent fact that he gets “about one offer each expand its network, according to effectively is by no means straight- considered are secondary airports, forward. “Major hubs in Europe are where business aircraft operators pretty much covered by the major could be offered an alternative gate- players, so, like property specula- way to a city’s crowded main airport. tion, the trick is finding the next hot To date, Signature’s record of ex- spot and getting the timing right,” he pansion in Europe has been some- said. “The 10 new European Union what checkered. In the mid-1990s it member countries would have to be established a bridgehead operation prime targets for expansion on paper, at Switzerland’s Zurich Airport, but trying to gauge traffic levels over where it built a brand-new executive investment levels is one of many terminal with local partner Zimex hurdles to overcome.” Aviation. Within a few years the For example, Signature Flight alliance fell apart and Signature Support is currently targeting six walked away from the location. separate European locations in its Undeterred, and with the backing expansion strategy. According to of its UK-based parent company, the U.S.-based group’s CEO, Beth BBA Group, Signature got a foothold Haskins, negotiations are already under way and at least one of these prospective deals is expected to Transairco’s business aircraft handling oper- ation–in Geneva Airport’s old general avia- be completed. tion terminal–is now establishing a new flight While declining to identify the dispatch department to interface directly with European locations in Signature’s the airport’s controllers and weather service. November 2003 Aviation International News Directory of European FBOs This directory of European FBOs lists companies providing Feras, which is part of Universal Weather & business aircraft handling at each airport. Not all these companies Aviation’s UVGlobal Network, offers handling are full-service FBOs, but they are providers of handling services supervision at just about every major airport in for business aircraft–either directly or in a supervisory capacity. central and eastern Europe, Russia and the Airlines and airport companies providing handling for non- Commonwealth of Independent States. scheduled operators have generally not been included in this di- rectory, except where they appear to be the only source for business-aircraft handling at a particular location. This is be- from preceding page Swissport, according to Dave Kin- cause the scope of this report is intentionally focused on dedi- cated business aviation service companies. son, its COO for Europe. “There are Listings include telephone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses difficult handling license issues with and contact names, where available. These details have mainly airports, and Swissport can help with been found via company Web sites, and companies that could be this,” he explained. “We want to be contacted have been offered the opportunity to ensure that the able to offer a network [of executive correct information is supplied. Where no response was received handling operations] without neces- (and many FBOs were shockingly unresponsive to inquiries made sarily having to build new facilities, via their own Web sites and customer-service telephone num- since this can be very expensive and bers), AIN has included information found on company and airport hard to do.