France-based airport and FBO operator Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur Group finished what it described as a record-breaking 2018 with a 5.5 percent increase in business aviation movements at its Nice Côte d’ Azur, Cannes-Mandelieu, and Golfe de Saint-Tropez Airports, which combined saw a total 77,373 movements.
The company’s Sky Valet FBO chain with bases throughout France, Spain, and Portugal reported a nearly 10 percent rise in movements last year, boosted by an 8.5 percent increase throughout its nine Spanish locations (Girona, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Ibiza, Malaga, Madrid, La Coruna, and Santiago de Compostela), and an increase of more than 50 percent at the highly competitive Paris Le Bourget Airport to nearly 6,200 movements for the year.
The company also noted an increase in the average weight of the aircraft it served, which rose 3.5 percent year-over-year, to 21.6 metric tons. “The record-breaking performance of our FBO activities confirms our strategy to deliver premium services and to extend our network, with the acquisition of licenses for Madrid and Barcelona Airports in 2018, and the renovation of our terminal in Ibiza,” noted Michel Tohane, Sky Valet’s executive vice president and director of the parent company’s general aviation business unit.
Last year, the company also launched the Sky Valet Connect affiliate brand, which has already attracted airport operators in France, Italy, and Bulgaria.