Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre (HKBAC) claims to be the first FBO in Asia to have customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ). It has also grown significantly since being opened at the new Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) at Chep Lap Kok in 1998. “In the past four years it has got a lot busier,” said Minnie Kan, business analysis manager. “We have had many improvements and have been increasing the staff.”
When AIN visited HKBAC in late February, after the Singapore Airshow, the impression was of a very busy FBO with a large, yet very crowded ramp. There are three good sized hangars–the first built in 1998, the next in 2007 and the latest in 2012. A new crew lounge was added upstairs in the FBO during 2013, said Sheree Cheung, director of administration and business development. “Our surveys showed that the crews wanted more space for preparation work.” There is also a back room upstairs that can be turned into a “snooze room” with a bed coming out of the wall.
HKIA has a Business Aviation Parking System (BAPS) that “helps all operators better utilize their space,” said Cheung. Applications are made online to Airport Authority Hong Kong and there are SOPs (standard operating procedures) for parking too, she added.
The ramp at HKBAC has been gradually increased over the years to cope with demand, but it remains crowded by the number of large-cabin business jets. There are remote bays around the airport managed through BAPS as well. “Every year we fight for more parking,” said Cheung.”
There are four main operators using HKBAC, Jet Aviation, Hongkong Jet, Metrojet and TAG Aviation. None has its own FBO so HKBAC has a monopoly. Jet Aviation has expressed a wish to have its own FBO–especially given that the Government Flying Service (GFS) facility next to HKBAC has a large apron that is relatively empty. However, Jet Aviation has now established an FBO in Macau, which will next year be joined by road to Hong Kong via a causeway that starts at HKIA and passes through a tunnel between two islands in mid-channel.
Customer Care manager Calvin Soong told AIN that GFS uses the space when it gets aircraft as large as VIP Boeing 747s and C-17s on delivery flights.
Kan said HKBAC was waiting for approval for “a denser parking configuration” which would allow it to gain “three more parking bays on the north apron.” The facility is constantly fighting to cope with the high demand from business aviation operators from around the world. For example, it has three fuel trucks now “and we have built hydrants with outlets at bays N1 and N4” to enable faster turnarounds.
Soong said, “The operation is quite similar to Luton [near London]. They have 50 movements a day and we have 25-30 movements a day on average, with a peak around March-April for conferences.”
Unfortunately, according to Rita Tam, head of customer relations, the ramp can’t be extended any further. “We’re trying to get more space, though–we’re always looking for ways to get more space, and enhancing our facilities.” Another advance will be a new IT system that shows where aircraft are around the airport.
HKBAC has “regular meetings” with operators and relays feedback to the airport operator. “We try to work like a family,” said Soong. “They [the Airport Authority] understand our constraints but they have many projects going on.”
The FBO has a lot of VIP visitors as well as business and private family aircraft. So as of 2010, at the end of the facility is a room for VVIP visitors, including royalty and heads of state.
