Jet Aviation began its Olympic last week, two days to the Beijing Olympics with the opening of its newest Facility Operations Branch, FBO, located in a brand new facility at Beijing’s Capital International Airport (PEK).
The opening coincided with the arrival of private aircraft for the Olympic Games, whose torch lighting ceremonies were Friday, 8 August and officially ends on Sunday, Aug. 24th.
Construction of the new FBO facility, a joint venture with Beijing-based Deer Air and Reach Investment, began less than six months ago and, according to Jet Aviation spokesperson Patrick Sniffen, “The paint is still wet, it really is.”
Under an agreement with airport authorities, private aircraft passengers will offload at Capital Airport Holdings, the government-owned FBO at PEK, and then will taxi to the Jet facility for servicing, parking and crew processing.
Jet Aviation anticipates handling up to 100 private aircraft on the opening and closing days of the Games, which are expected to be the busiest, and has enough ramp space to park them all, though many are expected to drop and go.
The FBO will have some 70 ramp, administrative and maintenance personnel on hand during the Olympics, including many brought in from Jet’s Teterboro, NJ, and Bedford, Mass., operations in the U.S., along with others from bases in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Local Deer Air personnel will also be on hand.
Once fully operational this fall, the three-storey, 35,000 sq ft FBO will feature all the amenities expected in a modern business aviation facility including conference rooms, weather and flight planning accommodations, crew lounges, etc. The permanent staff should number around 60. Fueling will be handled by China Fuel, a government entity, but coordinated by Jet.
When it was suggested that opening for business days before the opening of the Olympics undoubtedly added to the stress level of those involved, “Oh yeah,” Sniffen responded, “It was tense.”
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