TAG Farnborough will have among the most spectacular new facilities in Europe in 2008 as it seeks to be not only the best of the biggest and busiest but the best of the lot as far as EBAN readers are concerned.

The Aviator, an on-site hotel with 170 rooms and shaped like a propellor when viewed from the skies, will be brought into service and have its formal opening ceremony on 16 October timed to coincide with the centenary of Samuel Franklin Cody's first flight in a biplane. Another large tranche of hangar space will be readied and TAG Farnborough already aims to be well placed to further enhance its reputation as demand relating to the U.K. hosted Olympic Games of 2012 begins to build.

It also has the advantage of owning the airport from which it operates its FBO. "This is rare, if not unique, in Europe for a dedicated business aviation airport," says O'Reilly. But Farnborough is capped at 28,000 movements annually of which only 2,500 can be at weekends. Over the past two years the total number of movements has grown by 43.5% on an annualised basis. "We are very near our overall cap and could do much more business at the weekend," says O'Reilly. TAG Farnborough is liaising with the local council and community as it simultaneously works on a development plan designed to accommodate a rising level of business.

O'Reilly says: "Business aviation aircraft at TAG Farnborough will not get stuck behind several EasyJets as can happen in airports that do a mix of commercial and business aviation. We have great staff, beautiful facilities and a good reputation but we intend to improve on all three in 2008."

The most successful FBOs in Europe are achieving the right blend of individual personal service, teamwork, quality facilities and reasonable pricing while responding with timely improvements to feedback.