A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

Just as Beijing and Shanghai have substantial FBOs, so to soon will Guangzhou, another of China’s major cities. Yitong Business Aviation Service Co. Ltd of GAA (Guangdong Airport Authority), a state-owned aircraft ground handling company based in Guangdong Province, will begin construction next month on a new RMB426 million ($62 million) FBO complex at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

 


Yitong (Booth P432) was established in 2014 and also provides ground support services in Huizhou, Jieyang and Meizhou. Its goal is to become a world-class, comprehensive business aircraft service provider and the market leader in China.

 


The Guangzhou facility will represent its first FBO, the initial phase of which is expected to be completed in 2017. Current plans call for a 5,000-sq-m (53,000-sq-ft) Western-style passenger terminal, the biggest in China, with all the expected amenities and services such as on-site customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ), slot and landing permit service, aircraft cleaning, fueling, VIP lounges and shuttle service inside or outside the airport, along with a 20,000-sq-m (215,000-sq-ft) hangar capable of accommodating ultra-long-range business jets. A second phase will add another hangar for maintenance, for a total footprint of 420,000-sq-m (100 acres).

 


According to Kenneth Chan, manager of Yitong’s strategy and marketing department, the move looks to address future business aviation expansion in the region, as Guangzhou is the third-busiest airport in China.

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