PremiAir Aviation International, which chairman Graham Avery acquired last December, is launching The West London Heliport, located with its maintenance facility at Blackbushe Airport, and adding an FBO. “We felt a need for a second heliport serving the capital,” Avery said during a press conference at Helitech.
While the London Heliport in Battersea has the appeal of a central London location, Blackbushe Airport in Surrey (an hour’s drive from central London) offers significant cost savings, according to PremiAir executives. They estimate that fees to use the West London Heliport will not only be one-third of Battersea’s but also include onward chauffeur-driven travel. They intend to serve the entire southeast England area. Moreover, there are no restrictions on movements at Blackbushe Airport. The facility operates from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. Five outdoor parking stands are available to helicopters, in addition to 50,000 sq ft of hangarage.
The investment in the FBO, now at the design stage, is estimated at ÂŁ250,000 ($400,000). Avery wants PremiAir eventually to acquire a small fleet of rotorcraft and launch charter operations, for which it already holds an AOC.
