A new high-end ‘gateway’ to London has just opened – but you’ll need to be arriving by private jet to use it. Flexjet, the leading luxury private aviation provider, has unveiled its new dedicated terminal at Farnborough airport in Surrey that sets a fresh benchmark for the company’s infrastructure design – and is all set to soothe, support and pleasantly surprise its well-heeled clientele.
Two years in the making, the two-storey, 2,098 sq m terminal offers not only hospitality, relaxation, working and meeting space exclusively for Flexjet ‘owners’, as members of its fractional ownership scheme are known; it also hosts a finishing school for cabin crew; doubles as an event space; and houses Flexjet’s European HQ on the upper floor.
The terminal features Flexjet offices upstairs, serving as its European HQ, and guest and training space on the ground floor
It’s what Flexject CEO Mike Silvestro calls a ‘blueprint terminal’ that sees the company ‘jumping ahead in terms of hospitality’ as it aims to offer the highest quality guest experience.
‘This opening establishes one of the most significant branded luxury environments in private aviation and is a defining moment in Flexjet’s global expansion,’ says Flexjet chairman Kenn Ricci.
The interiors, by Canada-based Carver Hain Art + Design, are inspired by ‘what you see from the sky’, says practice co-director Tracy Hain, referring to the space’s rich textures and warm hues – the latter also tying in with those of Flexjet’s visual identity. ‘I didn’t want it to feel like an airport lounge,’ adds Hain, who previously designed the interiors of Flexjet’s Mayfair office. Here, she has created what the company refers to as a ‘home from home’ for its owners.
Soft lighting, including ‘Ficupala’ table lamps by Cassina and a low-hanging chandelier by Bert Frank, B&B Italia sofas, and a rug by The Rug Company contribute to a domestic feel. The stained-oak flooring, from Havwoods, features a custom-designed block shape, echoing that of the building
There’s topographical carpeting, and softly tactile seating in buttery leather and earthy-toned or rich blue textiles, the fabrics largely from Casamance. Forms are rounded; lighting, including decorative designs by Bert Frank, as well as Cassina and Artemide, is soft throughout; and curved walls and columns are skirted in an embossed liquid metal bronze.
Commissioned artworks comprise a sculpture by British-Canadian artist David Spriggs – a cloud-like whirl, formed of layered acrylic panels and inspired by the vortices that form beneath a plane’s wingtips – and a wood-veneer marquetry work by London-based Olly Fathers in the meeting space.
The meeting room, with a wall-hung wood marquetry artwork by Olly Fathers, bouclé wall coverings from Casamance, side tables in Calacatta Gold Cohen marble, and a sofa designed by Hain
The latter room, ‘my favourite space’, notes Hain, envisioned not just for meetings but also events, is comfortably cocooning, with wall-to-wall carpeting, fabric wall coverings, an inviting sofa as well as the formal table seating – and all the connectivity you’d expect. It’s set beneath a ‘liquid effect’ painted ceiling achieved through what Hain describes as ‘a rather arduous process requiring many layers, almost like lacquer’.
The bar area
The oval bar, a centrepiece of the main space and a natural gathering spot, serves a light menu of Viennoiserie, breakfast and lunch bowls, and cheese and charcuterie.
‘I wanted to evoke a club,’ says Hain of the whole space, ‘somewhere you want to spend time, have a martini at the bar.’
The Fuselage Lounge
The true party piece? The Fuselage Lounge, which recreates the cabin interior of a Gulfstream G700 jet, at actual size. Fitted out with precision by Hain, it’s complete with a master bedroom. Not just a cute space to work, relax or meet for Flexjet owners, it will also be used for sales and marketing, and is the perfect practice area in which staff attending the training academy can hone their skills.
A galley module can even be rolled out and slotted onto the end of the lounge to facilitate this – an example of the whole hub’s embrace of functionality as well as flair.
Aero by David Spriggs
The training academy space itself – populated by a series of galley modules – can be open to the rest of the ground floor during events, for example, or curtained off from the lounge space when privacy is required.
The new private terminal is Flexjet’s first in Europe and Silvestro describes it as a ‘gateway to Europe’ for the brand. The US-headquartered company already has nine other terminals either built or being developed Stateside, and an infrastructure presence of some kind in 25 locations globally.
Those using the Farnborough terminal can take advantage of helicopter transfers in and out of London, should they wish (we did the ’copter commute from Battersea to attend the Farnborough terminal launch and it took just 20 minutes, less on the way back). He also notes that owners might simply fly into Farnborough, hold their meeting within the hospitality-focused terminal, and fly out again.
Flexjet's new private terminal at Farnborough
Asked how Flexjet owners and their expectations have changed over the last few years, Silvestro says they are getting younger, buying larger and flying longer distances. ‘The average age has dropped ten years,’ he says.
The company gives that average as around the low-fifties, noting that it is seeing increasing numbers of owners in their forties. Now, at 45, adds Silvestro, if they have the money, rather than starting with smaller planes and working their way up, ‘they are buying straight into big planes, and travelling further. The world is smaller.’
There should be no shortage of takers, then, for Flexjet’s new hub for high flyers.