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

The UK’s TAG Farnborough Airport is one of Europe’s most popular business aircraft destinations, and its FBO has garnered an impressive streak as the highest rated location in the Eastern Hemisphere, according to AIN’s readers, something CEO Brandon O’Reilly does not take for granted.

 


For 2015, he noted that the dedicated business aviation airport (Booth Y044) saw a 2 percent increase in operations year-over-year, with a disparate 6 percent rise in airliner-derived business aircraft such as the Boeing BBJ, Airbus ACJ and Embraer Lineage. That trend has continued through the first four months of the year. O’Reilly reported that London-area Farnborough has experienced a 1 percent increase in flights over the same period in 2015, yet the number of operations by 50-ton-or-greater aircraft, predominantly ACJs and BBJs has maintained its 6 percent increase. “That part of the market still seems to be holding up and developing,” said O’Reilly, who believes the introduction late last year of a bespoke, large-capacity VIP lounge on the FBO’s first floor could also be a contributing factor.

 


The company engaged heavily in promotion and marketing of the lounge, which can accommodate approximately 70 passengers, and it appears that investment has paid dividends. Likewise, the new discrete facility has garnered approval from the music groups, sports teams and government and diplomatic envoys that have used it.

 


Other recent improvements at the FBO include a gymnasium, an additional snooze room and another pilot work room, the result of customer feedback recorded on two iPads mounted in the FBO, expressly for that purpose.

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Farnborough Sees Bizliner Growth

ACJs and BBJs are becoming a common sight at the London-area bizav airport.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

The gala event will take place in late March in New Orleans

Tickets for Inaugural AIN FBO Awards Now Available

Canada-based company has been operating at KAPC since last year

Skyservice Breaks Ground on New California Facility

AmyWilder

News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

Award ceremony to take place in Nashville in November

NATA To Honor Rick Crider with Airport Executive Award

Network now lists more than 140 locations globally

Washington, D.C.-area FBO Joins Paragon Network

Pepper oversaw the growth of Atlantic Aviation into a mega chain

Pepper Honored with NATA William Ong Achievement Award

The company has been a fixture at Columbia Metropolitan Airport since 1967

Eagle Aviation: Serving South Carolina for Nearly Six Decades

The Jet In FBO at KMKE has been open for little more than a year

Jet Aviation Buys Newly Opened Milwaukee FBO

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

EBACE 2016

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