Story ID: 576MelbourneJetBase
New Australian FBO Raises the Bar
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: The Melbourne Jet Base at Tullamarine Airport made its debut earlier this month
Word Count: 258
Making its debut at this year’s NBAA annual convention is the brand new Australian FBO, Melbourne Jet Base (Booth #848). The state-of-the-art, $71 million ($100 million AU), facility established by businessman Paul Little at the city’s Tullamarine Airport opened earlier this month, raising the bar for service providers in Australia and beyond.

Open 24/7, it features in-house customs and quarantine processing, with the option to be cleared onboard the aircraft; a stylish grand foyer and private luxury passenger retreat lounges; business suites; spa services; an underground car park; two A/V-equipped conference rooms; dining lounge with VIP catering; a crew rest area and lounge; prayer room; flight planning room; crew car; concierge; office space and a porte cochere, or for those who wish, planeside car access. Limousine and helicopter transfers are available as well.

“By providing a destination that facilitates private aviation travel in such an exceptional way, we hope to see an influx of global VIP’s visiting Australia to experience all we have to offer,” said Little.

The location also offers aircraft maintenance and cleaning, with a five bay, narrow body hangar and a two bay, wide body hangar large enough to store an Airbus A380. A separate dedicated hangar displays Little’s fully-restored DC-3 Kanana, one of the first of the type to operated in the country. It has 619,000 sq ft (57,500 sqm) of ramp space.

Through an agreement with a local fuel provider, the location also operates its own 7,900 gallon (30,000l) jet refueler.

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