Landings
Business Travel Paris
Situated in the Île-de-France region and divided into 20 so-called “arrondissements municipaux,” the cosmopolitan capital of France is one of the largest population centres in Europe, with an increasing number of 12 million inhabitants. Since the launch of the massive urban renewal project by former president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007, called “Le Grand Paris,” the city has witnessed the coming of various transport, economic, cultural and emblematic projects to boost and revitalise its global and metropolitan economy. With a rich history of culture and tradition, Paris offers a vast myriad of museums, monuments and landmarks. So whether you want to take a stroll along the Champs d’Élysées or the Seine, pay a visit to the picturesque Cartier Latin with all its cosy and local boutiques, or seal a deal in the high-rise and office-tower district of La Défense, Paris offers a bit of everything for everybody.
With acreage up to 552 hectares and located respectively 11km from the centre of Paris and 20km from the business district La Défense, the principal BizAv airport of the French capital is Paris-Le Bourget. It has three runways (07/25 with 3000m, 03/21 with 2665m and 09/27 with 1845m) of which two are independent. Paris-Le Bourget features 7 different FBOs and a wide range of rental facilities going from private cars to utility vehicles and chauffeur-driven limousines. Furthermore, it provides its clients with a great variety of highclass restaurants, hotel accommodation and even aeronautical training facilities, including a Cessna Training Centre and Flight Safety International office. In addition it also offers the Espace Alizé 120sqm conference room with state-of-the-art communication tools. Beside the Paris-Le Bourget, Paris provides a large number of aerodromes in a radius of 30km around the city, such as Toussus-Le-Noble, Pointoise-Cromeilles-en-Vexin and Melun-Villaroche, all with separate FBO services, handling operators and maintenance providers. Moreover, the Heliport of Issy Les Moulineaux is available for helicopter transport with Hélifrance in and around Paris, with a personal service provided by Aviaxess Helicopter & Jet Handling.
Fixed Base Operators (FBOs):
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In a recent survey, Le Bourget was the only airport to have four of its FBOs in the list of Top 25 FBOs in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Dassault Falcon Service was ranked sixth, Advanced Air Support 18th, JetEx Flight Support came 20th and Signature Flight Support 23rd. Other FBOs at Le Bourget were not included in the survey. The main FBOs operations at Le Bourget are listed below. |
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Signature Flight Support’s facilities include VIP lounge and office services and a conference centre at Terminal One. Signature offers in-house hangarage up to Global Express aircraft and G-Vs. Its VIP Terminal 1 contains an FBO with a self-service bar for passengers and pilots, a conference room and VIP lounge. Flight planning, weather, and crew rooms and transport are available. |
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DFS is widely regarded among Le Bourget’s top-ranking FBOs and one of the world’s best. Passengers have their own VIP facilities including lounge, bar, television, newspapers, conference room, projector and sound system. Limousine access to aircraft is available with prior permission. |
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Owned by FlyingGroup until 2009, JetEx Flight Support occupies the newly refurbished terminal at the airport’s entrance. For crew, JetEx provides weather and flight planning offices, transport on the apron and to hotels in the vicinity, a dedicated crew lounge with shower facilities, Wi-Fi and rest areas. Passengers can enjoy JetEx’s VIP (“Le Salon) or VVP (“Le Royale”) lounges; limo access to the aircraft is available on a prior-requested basis. |
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In cooperation with ExecuJet Aviation Service, Advanced Air Support provides passengers with VIP facilities, including lounge and office services, and a private terminal with limousine services. Furthermore it provides third-party catering through Jetchef, Canonica, LSG Skychef and Le Notre. AAS is ranked ninth in the top 25 of European FBO services. |
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Universal passengers have their own facilities, including lounge and office services with Wi-Fi, prayer room and fully equipped conference room. Limousine and courtesy car services from ramp to aircraft are available. Customs and immigration clearance happens at your aircraft. A 3000sqm heated hangar can also handle aircraft up to two BBJs or one DC8 size. |
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| Landmark Aviation Landmark Aviation offers a refurbished FBO with an updated VIP lounge, office services and conference facilities. Dedicated passenger amenities include conference facilities, refreshments, crew room and meeting room. Landmark Aviation handles inhouse up to BBJs or aircraft of similar size. |
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Unijet recently opened a new terminal at Le Bourget and its FBO underwent a major refurbishment with particular attention to the VIP lounge. They provide facilities, including heated hangars, ramp space parking, VIP lounges, meeting rooms and more. |
Connections:
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Only five miles separate Le Bourget from the city centre. Access by taxi, car or quality limousine, booked by the FBO, is usually about 45 minutes away, depending on traffic. The northern section of the RER suburban line B is just a few minutes away by taxi. The RER takes passengers directly to the centre in about 20 minutes. The line can be crowded. A helicopter service takes passengers from Le Bourget to the Paris helipad at Issy-les-Moulineaux, just southwest of the city centre. Flights take 10-15 minutes according to air traffic. The only helicopter service based at Le Bourget is Hélifrance. |
Top Business Hotels:
| It may come as a surprise to learn that France’s official hotel scale stops at four-star luxury. However, several Paris hotels that offer rooms at more than €600 ($855) a night already categorise themselves Palaces. There are no four (or even five) star hotels in the Le Bourget area. The following list outlines just some of the central luxury hotels, all around 45 minutes by car from Le Bourget airport (depending of course on Paris traffic!). | |
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Le Royal Monceau, or Royal Hill, is a combination of a Starck-designed hotel and an artistic and cultural paradise. Next to its 149 rooms, of which almost half are suites, the Royal Monceau offers a gallery, an art-book shop and a dedicated art concierge, all situated in a modern décor of plush carpets, high ceilings and crystal chandeliers. All mayor suites have bathrooms and dressing rooms of surreal proportions, internally decorated with huge mirrors. This 19th century building was the residence of Marlene Dietrich for three years in the ‘30s. Creaking parquet floors, warm wood dressers and glowing lanterns all contribute to an antique atmosphere of the Parisian tradition. The Michelin-starred inhouse restaurant La Table comes highly recommended! Visiting a chateau is very different from actually staying in a chateau, but at Saint James you get both - and this within the city centre. After its makeover in 2011 - by some referred to as “dramatic” - the hotel now blows your mind away even more, with its bizarre combination of panther-print walls inside a Napoleonic décor. |
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Hôtel De Crillon Closed for renovations until 2015, this neoclassic hotel is still worth mentioning. L’Hôtel de Crillon is a dazzling palace of legendary proportions. Self-proclaimed to celebrate the beginning of a new era in 2015 (FlyCorporate backs this proclamation), this masterpiece of the 18th century has had a glorious history so far and is only awaiting an even more glorious future. This pied-à-terre hotel is practically located next to the Eiffel Tower - close enough to touch it - in the extravagant and chic Arrondissement de Passy. The complex houses ten of the most private and exclusive apartments, with surfaces going from 150sqm to 300sqm. With no bar or restaurant attached to the hotel, staying in La Réserve Paris is like staying at home, only in this home, your kitchen is equipped in ways you could not possibly imagine and you can pre-arrange the drink cabinet of your dreams. |
Top Conference Facilities:
When Le Bourget holds its air show every two years, it becomes the Paris area’s third biggest exhibition space. In between shows (the next will be the 50th international air show and will be held in June of this year), the business
airport offers a large, fully equipped meeting room in the completely refurbished building at the airport entrance. For bigger meetings or trade shows, Paris city centre offers a wide range of convention sites. With Paris being busy
all-year round, the major hotels all offer meeting, convention and exhibition facilities, but expect to pay more during convention seasons (April- June and September-November). The biggest centrally located exhibition site is the Paris Expo/Porte de Versailles Centre. For more information on conference sites visit parisinfo.com.
FC Picks for a Power Lunch or Dinner:
All the luxury hotels in Paris have top-class restaurants (notably Le Meurice, which recently received a third Michelin star) and the city maintains its reputation as a major gastronomic treat, with over 30,000 restaurants and cafés. Listed below is a selection of a few of the most prestigious locations to eat and entertain.
L’Arpège is a three-star restaurant, run by renowned chef Alain Passard. It has a very simple and relaxed, yet suitable, ambiance for important meetings. Great modern French food and impeccable, discreet service.
With an open kitchen, at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon you can either eat at the bar Japanese-style, or enjoy the privacy of a secluded table. The restaurant presents an extensive variety of typical French food, tapas style.
Bathed in a red and black decorated interior, this delicious oyster bar and French contemporary food restaurant is situated just off the Champs-Elysées and can be booked entirely for private occasions.
Located inside the Hotel, on the left bank of the Seine, L’Hotel restaurant welcomes you with a new chef and wonderful food. Seasonal and classically French dishes with a distinctive light, modern touch are served in a very intimate atmosphere.
Another Alain Ducasse restaurant, Spoon is reputedly the first restaurant in Paris to offer pick and mix choices of food and condiments. Don’t miss the Spoon Experience, a menu served for the entire table, specially cooked for you by the Chef!
FC Picks for a Post-Meeting Drink:
One of the better hotel cocktail bars in Paris is at the Plaza Athenée. Another top location is the 33rd floor of the Hotel Concorde Lafayette at the Porte Maillot. FlyCorporate’s recently discovered recommendation, however, is Le Schmuck, located in the fashionable district of Saint Germain. Although it’s also a restaurant, Le Schmuck is the perfect location for one of their extraordinary cocktails after a busy business day. Both fancy and relaxed, with an ivy ceiling and chandeliers hanging everywhere, Le Schmuck will deny its name once you’re inside, as the place is famous for its beautiful people – rumour has it Scarlet Johansson likes it too.