Metro Business Aviation Is FBO King In London Area with Three Facilities

Metro Business Aviation operates no fewer than three FBOs at Stansted, Luton and Heathrow and connects them all by helicopter to the Central London heliport at Battersea which it bought at the end of last year, while competitors focus on a sole location near London (for example, TAG Aviation operates Farnborough, Jet Aviation is setting up at Biggin Hill and Signature has a large presence at Luton).

Metro Business Aviation is owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, whose businesses include Harrods department store and the Air Harrods helicopter service which operates two Sikorsky S-76s and Europe's first IFR-equipped EC 135 on demand for the FBO.

"London is our whole strategy," Alan George, Metro Business Aviation's sales and marketing director told Show News. But achieving growth in the FBO operations at more than incremental rates will be a tough challenge after the rapid expansion that has propelled the company into a commanding position in the London market.

Stansted
Metro Business Aviation claims 76% of the business aviation market at Stansted, handling everything from Learjets to Boeing 747s. Movements last year totaled about 7,500 including 220 widebodies--and sometimes four or five of them a day. "We have all the infrastructure here for large aircraft, with our own loaders, covered stairs, 747 pushback tractors and even an ambilift," George pointed out. When Show News visited in July the Abu Dhabi Royal Flight was present with a Boeing 747 and a BBJ, and just weeks earlier the terminal had handled Air Force Two and Three.

The Stansted operation is home to Ford Motor Co.'s two Boeing BBJ shuttles, which leave every morning with 120 passengers each for Valencia and Cologne, and return full at the end of the day. Metro Business Aviation provides the terminal, front desk, check-in, X-ray and baggage handling and security services. It will also be home to Al Fayed's Airbus A319CJ.

Heathrow
Heathrow earlier seemed to fade in importance for Metro Business Aviation as slot shortages and other restrictions forced it to transfer its engineering business to Stansted and Luton, move its head office from there to Stansted, and offer only refueling, limited aircraft handling and its VIP lounges. But these operations at Heathrow received a major shot in the arm in July with a joint marketing and handling agreement with Swissport Executive Aviation. This will likely attract large VIP aircraft to Metro's Heathrow VIP facilities while taking advantage of Swissport's existing investment in compatible ground, baggage and handling equipment at the airport.

"This should bring in some more movements, although they are slot-limited," said George. Metro Business Aviation expects movements at Heathrow to run just under 2,000 a year.

Luton
London-Luton is the shining star in terms of growth, with a stellar 95% increase in movements last year to 6,500 and more expected this year as Metro Business Aviation competes head on with Signature (formerly Lynton) for business. Investments have included a new executive terminal and hangar, larger ramp area of up to 47,000-square feet, and its own refueling operations. These operate completely independently of the airport's airline facilities, greatly cutting down on delays to business aircraft. Further expansion is inevitable, George noted.

Metro Business Aviation operates its engineering services at Luton in a BBJ-capable hangar, and claims to maintain more Bombardier Challengers than anyone else in Europe. ("We recently did a 400-hour check within 14 days on a Hawaiian-based aircraft whose owner needed to be in London for two weeks," George pointed out.) Luton is also authorized as a service center for Learjets (and Stansted for Hawkers).

"Engineering has been nose-to-tail since November, without a break," said George. "It has really taken off. So now we are concentrating on based aircraft and those with maintenance contracts--we are not really looking for ad hoc work."

It will likely become busier since Metro Business Aviation was selected by Bombardier to provide contract service for its Flexjet Europe fleet of Learjet and Challenger fractional ownership aircraft.

The contract includes 24-hour availability of maintenance, cleaning and fueling for the current fleet of 10 Learjets and one Challenger 604.

-John Morris