Flight Support is on schedule to inaugurate its first executive
lounge ‘Rendezvous’ at Isle of Man Ronaldsway Airport at the end of
September.The Isle of Man-based company successfully tendered to take
over British Airways’ former Silver lounge earlier this year. 

Flight Support has earmarked some £60,000 investment in the facility,
including extending it to twice its size through the fitting of new
glass doors and the adaptation of a new clean line design, working
around the colours of purple and black.  Rendezvous is scheduled to
formally open mid September. 

 

Nebrak, a Devon-based design and build interiors and exhibitions
specialist, has worked closely with General Manager Rendezvous Executive
Lounges Angela Byrne M.H.I, who has masterminded the look.  Nebrak did
the design work on the launch of the Aston Martin DB7 and holds the
contracts for the design and casing for all vending areas at Manchester
and London Heathrow Airports.  The company also recently tendered for
the contract to supply all Heathrow Terminal 5 Staff Catering.  Angela
Byrne has considerable experience working in the hotel and hospitality
sector, having gained a Degree in Hotel and Institutional Management at
Queen’s College, Glasgow before progressing to a General Manager
position in the hotel industry.  Angela then returned to education at
Post Graduate level, becoming Head of Centre at a private catering
college.  Angela is now looking forward to leading the Rendezvous brand.

 

Rendezvous will offer business class passengers a wide selection of
drinks, wines and spirits, plus a selection of savoury snacks.  They can
log on with wifi or just catch up with the day’s newspapers.

 

The first airline customer to commit to using Rendezvous is flybe, for
its Economy Plus passengers, flying to London Gatwick and London Luton,
Manchester and Southampton.  Geneva is added to the network from
February 2007. Manx2.com has also committed. A number of other IoM
serving airlines are also in dialogue. 

 

“We are very excited with our first new Rendezvous lounge which we hope
to roll out at other UK airports in due course,” commented Flight
Support CEO Brett Turner.  “It is a new departure for us, as an
operations-driven ground handling company, but we are customer service
driven and Rendezvous perfectly complements our work at check in and on
the ramp.  Angela and her team have done a great job in overseeing this
project.”

 

Earlier this month Flight Support announced it has merged with one of
the UK’s leading aircraft Interior specialists, Airbase Interiors Ltd,
based at London Gatwick. 

 

Flight Support, which started operations at Ronaldsway in February 2005,
will see its annual turnover boosted to over £12 million and its
workforce increase to over 350 as a result of joining forces with
Airbase.  The two airline supplier companies will offer a much broader
range of services and be more competitive with other, international
rivals. 

 

Now established at Ronaldsway, Manchester, Liverpool John Lennon and
Coventry Airports, Flight Support is actively looking at expanding its
presence in the UK and hopes to have 10 stations within the next two
years.

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