Privacy Please

Amenities notwithstanding, corporate business jet travel is predicated on speed. “In reality, passengers shouldn’t spend much time in our terminal,”says Wines, “They expect to arrive curbside or planeside, to be able to move quickly, either from the car to the plane or the plane to the car.”

At Meridian Teterboro, she adds,“For most of our passengers who are traveling through it’s the bare essentials – being able to walk through a well-maintained facility, get to their car quickly, use a clean restroom, have a cup of coffee and maybe grab a bottle of water along the way.”Many of Meridian’s business travelers are citybound for Manhattan, 12 miles distance from the New Jersey FBO.

One of the prime selling points of business aircraft is that they provide airborne privacy, a place where candid conversation about, say, a classified business deal can be held without fear of being overheard. For example at LA’s Van Nuys airport,“the clientele based in the facilities are eitherhigh-end investors or private individuals,” says Curt Castagna, president and CEO of Aeroplex/Aerolease Group, which just finished an $8 million, 50,000-square-foot facility at the airport.

“We cater to lots of people in the movie industry. Those folks want privacy and security. That’s the number one consideration for them: They want a facility that provides protection.”Castagna says his company listened to the clientele when it designed the new Van Nuys enclave. Conference rooms, security systems, access control systems – “we’re building them in.”