Shared jet ownership company Flexjet is looking to grow in Europe by doubling its European fleet, opening a new tactical control centre and hiring more pilots.
The company is set to double its European fleet by the end of 2022 and is opening an additional tactical control centre at Farnborough Airport as it sees year-on-year flight activity increase by more 180% in Europe for the first four months of the year.
Flexjet is the fleet launch customer for Embraer’s super-midsize Praetor 600 and is adding three more to its fleet in Europe. The company is also set to operate the Gulfstream G650 in Europe from July,
The tactical control centre and office space at Farnborough Airport opened in April and is the “operational heart of its European business”. It replaces a previous operations facility in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and adds to its second European Operational Centre in Malta and sales centre in London’s Mayfair.
The company has also hired an additional 33 pilots since the start of the year.
Flexjet’s European managing director, Marine Eugène said, “These significant investments are fueling our continued expansion in Europe. Demand for our services continues to be exceptionally strong. New programme sales and forward bookings are also very robust, so we are well-prepared for a busy summer and second half of the year.
“The opening of our new facility at Farnborough Airport represents a very significant investment in infrastructure and perfectly places our team on the site of one of Europe’s most impressive business aviation airports, as we continue our ambitious plans to build Flexjet in Europe over the coming years.
“With Farnborough such a key London gateway, we are also excited by the potential to broaden our offering here, including providing seamless central London connections via our group-operated helicopter fleet.”
