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Is London Gatwick a viable alternative to Biggin Hill or Farnborough for Private Jets?
Following my recent social media thoughts concerning the above I thought I would look into this question in a lot more detail. Given that British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are pulling out of Gatwick I hypothesised whether the airport would be a viable alternative airport for Private Jets, as in the past obtaining slots at peak times had always been an issue.
I contacted all three airports to get their standard pricing for four aircraft types, A large Jet the Falcon 900 EX, a super midsize Jet the Embraer Legacy 500, a midsize Jet the Hawker 900XP and a light Jet the Citation CJ2.
To make it even I assumed 4 passengers leaving the airport with the aircraft positioning in 2 hours before. It would be a mid-week flight.
The results can be seen below. The most cost effective airport is Biggin Hill as expected. So you really have to ask yourself whether it is worth paying the 152% to 375% premium to use Gatwick Airport which is over £2,000 extra for the Falcon 900. The distance from J7 on the M25 to Gatwick is 9 miles and Biggin Hill 16 miles. In addition Biggin Hill boasts a sumptuous VIP area at the Signature premises. The only reason I would see to pay the premium for Gatwick would be if you were flying in long haul with one of the airlines left and you wanted to connect to a private aircraft.
The Signature Lounge at Biggin Hill
Looking at Farnborough compared to Biggin Hill, I was surprised that the costs seem fairly similar for the larger aircraft, with a difference only on the smaller aircraft. This cost however could be insignificant depending on what home based aircraft is available at either airport for your particular trip, so positioning costs could drown this difference. However at weekends and Bank Holidays Farnborough charges an extra £520 per movement, for any aircraft, so you could be looking at an extra £1040 to fly, that may bring Biggin Hill back into play, and worth travelling those extra few miles, if it was not your closest airport.
My conclusion therefore, is unless London Gatwick drops its fees, attracts home based aircraft, then even though it may have the slots, it could not be seen a viable alternative to Biggin Hill or Farnborough in the near future. Of course Signature also operate their Elite Class service for commercial passengers from the private terminal at Gatwick, so already have the facilities to accommodate more business aviation there.
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