Farnborough Airport, the private-aviation field about an hour from London, has a new addition: a standalone terminal built for one company's clients only. Flexjet unveiled the facility on September 10, and it's being billed as the first dedicated branded private terminal in Europe — a building that Flexjet owners and their guests use exclusively, separate from the main FBO terminal that serves everyone else flying out of Farnborough.
The numbers give a sense of the ambition. The two-storey building covers around 2,098 square metres and reportedly cost $34 million. It looks out over a ramp lined with the Flexjet fleet — more than 350 jets and helicopters — and comes after an $800 million equity investment from LVMH-backed firm L Catterton just over a year ago. CEO Mike Silvestro describes it as the blueprint for what a branded FBO can be, and notes Flexjet already has nine similar terminals open or in development in the US, where owner-only terminals are more established.
Inside, it goes well beyond a lounge. There's an owners' bar with floor-to-ceiling views of the airfield, private meeting rooms, and dedicated security screening and immigration channels. The back-of-house floors hold a Tactical Operations Control Center and a cabin-server training academy with kitchens kitted out with the same equipment found onboard Flexjet aircraft. Sustainability got some attention too: 138 solar panels and a siphonic rainwater drainage system are built in.
The interior, by Carver Hain Art + Design — the same firm behind Mayfair's Flexjet House — leans into what the designers call a European aesthetic. Highlights include a layered art installation by British-Canadian artist David Spriggs evoking cirrus clouds and wingtip vortices in the entry passage, plus lobby tables crafted from sourced Rolls-Royce propellers. Photographs from Flexjet-sponsored owner events, such as the St Moritz snow polo world cup, line the walls. The showpiece is in the G700 lounge: a full-size replica of a Gulfstream G700 fuselage, complete with bedroom suite.
Why should a traveller care? If you're flying privately out of London, Farnborough now offers the most elevated ground experience in Europe — though only if you're in the Flexjet ecosystem. For everyone else, it's a signal of where high-end aviation is heading: competition has moved beyond the aircraft itself to the entire journey on the ground, with brands building dedicated infrastructure rather than renting space in shared terminals. Expect rivals like NetJets, which is building its own exclusive terminal in Augusta, Georgia, to push similar projects. For now, the bar at Farnborough has been raised considerably.