Story ID: 019aFBOProfileRizonJetAINOct14EditedByAY_NM
FBO: Rizon Jet
By: Ian Sheppard
Caption: London Biggin Hill Airport-based Rizon Jet says it would like to see all FBOs focusing on higher-quality service to attract more to bizav.
Word Count: 885
Opened three years ago at a cost of $48 million, the Rizon Jet FBO at London Biggin Hill Airport is now the company’s only facility, following closure of its Doha location earlier this year after Doha’s new international airport opened. Rizon Jet has thus focused even more effort on upping the standard at what is still a relatively quiet and uncongested airport.

Calm though it may be, this former RAF training base–which is still home to several WWII Spitfires and Hurricanes–is so close to London that you can see the skyline 12 miles away. The fact that it is also only six minutes by helicopter from London’s only commercial heliport, at Battersea, makes it all the more attractive. Visitors can now fly in and continue to the West End in short order aboard an AgustaWestland A109 operated by Rizon’s neighbor, and now partner, Castle Air. The alternative chauffeur service takes less than an hour to reach Mayfair.

Although the airport has its own handling and there is also a Signature FBO, Rizon Biggin Hill CEO Allan McGreal believes there is room for them all. For those wanting to use a chain, with its loyalty program, there is Signature, whereas Rizon has done especially well with high-end customers. McGreal characterized year-on-year growth at the facility as “exponential,” climbing from 521 movements in 2011 to 1,371 in 2012 and 2,431 last year. As of early September the company had handled 1,482 aircraft, he added. “We’re also selling upwards of 100,000 liters [26,417 gallons] a month of fuel,” added McGreal, who was with Signature and then Marshall Aerospace (Cambridge) before joining Rizon Jet in December 2010, just before the Biggin Hill FBO opened. This level of growth has spurred the company to explore expansion plans sooner than anticipated. “We planned new hangar space and ramp area for 2016,” McGreal told AIN, “but already we’ll need it by mid-2015, about one year ahead of the original plan.”

Attracting Customers to the FBO

He also said pricing at the Avfuel-branded facility is “competitive” compared with other service providers’ and painted a picture of a different philosophy from the mainstream. “One of the problems with FBOs is that they don’t interact with their clients…but by enriching their experience we believe they are more likely to stay in the market [for business aviation]. This will stimulate the market.” He suggests that if everyone raises the standard in business aviation, more customers will be won [and won back] from the airline premium products. “I don’t want to be an island of excellence; I want [business aviation users] to have a cool time wherever they go. The whole [FBO industry] has to lift itself up; we’re not just a portal between the car and the aeroplane.”

McGreal maintains that most passengers don’t really want to skip the FBO. “I challenge them to dwell in the FBO, just once, to see what it’s like. After that, they do it all the time, from captains of industry to groups to individuals.” This is the tip of the iceberg in terms of encouraging people to experience the facility, with the plush lounge and exemplary service and “anything you want” catering. FBO dwell times average four-and-a-half minutes, according to McGreal, while at Rizon that number is 28 minutes.

Another recent theme the FBO has encouraged is as a meeting destination for companies. “They can have it as their HQ for a day,” said McGreal, “Visitors can fly in to London but stay at the FBO, while those they are visiting can come out to the airport for their meetings.”

The Rizon Jet team has gone to extraordinary lengths to raise its profile in the media, the luxury travel industry and locally. In May, a Dambusters Raid 70th anniversary concert was held in the facility, which remained fully operational, while in July the FBO played host to an elite event with everything from aircraft to supercars to powerboats on display, along with art, listings for high-end real estate and luxury-goods brands.

McGreal works closely with London Biggin Hill Airport to attract more customers, and identifies only two drawbacks. One is that the airfield has limited opening hours, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends; the other is that the 5,932-foot main runway (03-21) is not really long enough for bizliner operations. The airport’s other runway (2,600-foot 11-29) is relatively quiet and hosts Rizon Jet’s ramp, conveniently located near the intersection. Runway 21 (with full ILS) is the usual runway, the prevailing weather in the UK being from the west/southwest.

Visitors to the FBO can park and leave their keys with the 24-hour security office, said FBO manager Tracy Gates during a visit last month by AIN. They are then met by an “ambassador” who sees to their “every need.” Those wishing to see their aircraft in the hangar can stroll along the specially designed “Skywalk” along the back of the structure, which has a floor area of 140,000 sq ft.

The FBO also has excellent crew facilities (accessed without the crew having to go landside), ample meeting rooms, business suite, boardroom and an upstairs private lounge.