to survive after the 2008 financial crash? Another travel manager in the banking sector tells me they now only keep a relationship with a jet provider for any emergency contingencies that might arise. “In terms of general traffic, we saw a slump in 2008,” says TAG’s Namihas. “But demand is returning, though not quite back to 2008 levels, which was a culmination of a 10-year boom. We’ve seen 5-10 per cent year-on-year growth since 2008. The IPO is one form of roadshow, but, of course, there’s lots of others: senior management may need to make regular visits to several factories around the world, for example. It’s quite a popular modus operandi – recruiting less senior people but making them more mobile.” He says TAG’s spread of business
– owning, managing, maintaining and chartering aircraft for and to a diverse range of individuals and Fortune 500 companies – has helped cushion it against the volatility of the markets. “Oil-and-gas is a big part of our business. Having a duty of care to employees in this area is a core principle – private aviation is safe, and you can control your environment and security. TAG has been through the International
Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) audit process, and we train other operators on best practice.”
IN THE CITY My next touchdown is the Jet Centre at London City Airport (I arrive via Docklands Light Railway, rather than the Gulfstream I’d hoped for). Its proximity to London’s financial
“These jet services are available 24/7, 365 days a year– you don’t have to follow a time schedule”
heart must surely be both a strategic trump card, and a liability when the banks take a nosedive. Darren Grover is chief operating
officer at the Jet Centre. He says: “We saw a niche market here at London City in 2002, and experienced massive growth up to 2007 – from nothing to 15,000 flights a year. But as 95 per cent of our business is in and out of Canary Wharf and the City, we got hit pretty hard. There was a sharp decline in 2008, and last year we had just 7,000 flights. But we are seeing the green shoots of recovery. It’s a very hard sector to forecast, but my best estimate, based on data
trends, is that we’ll see around 7,500 flights in 2012.” These signs of recovery are echoed in a recent report in The New Y
ork
Times, suggesting a growth in investor appetite for European IPOs this year, citing two big instances in March raising around $2 billion; and the likes of Pricewaterhouse Coopers also talking about “green shoots”. The Jet Centre is used by several
key players in the market. Its biggest client is operator and fractional ownership specialist Netjets, which accounts for 50 per cent of business. Netjets has the largest of several smartly appointed private lounges, but the boutique-terminal’s creature comforts are not the point. “I don’t really want you in the lounge,” smiles Grover. “Because if you’re there I’m delaying you, unless it’s weather or some issue out of our control. We don’t sell anything tangible – it’s all about time.” I hear this from almost everyone in private aviation I speak to – where once status and prestige may have been the drivers, the old adage “time is money” now appears to be core to the whole sector. Grover says the airport’s mission
is to get departing passengers from car to plane in eight minutes, and vice-versa arrivals in six. “That’s our
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Farnborough airport, owned and run by TAG Aviation