Auckland private jet HQ could host organ transplant flights, freight, luxury and business travellers

The private jet stereotype might involve champagne, caviar, moguls and movie stars.

That notion has some basis, but a new private aviation hub could help with everything from organ transplants to specialist freight trips.

PrivatPort, Swissport’s executive aviation unit, signed a deal today with Auckland-based private equity firm SO Capital.

The joint venture partners aim to make Auckland a hub for Pacific premium air travel.

SO Capital chief executive Shah Aslam said Europe and the US were major markets, followed by Asia.

“The biggest reason why a lot of people use private aviation is because it’s efficient, it’s productive.”

The world’s longest-range business jets can fly direct from Auckland to Los Angeles or Tokyo.

Aslam said private aviation could drastically slash travel times for European or North American customers.

“We cater to a whole range of clients,” PrivatPort global chief executive Josua Hildbrand said today.

Those included medical flights, repatriation of residents from abroad, and flights for organ transplantation.

Most users of the hub would be high net worth individuals and businesspeople on private jets, he said.

Sometimes they had schedules or itineraries that scheduled flights could not meet.

The PrivatPort and SO Capital facility has biosecurity and customs screening capabilities.

The joint venture partners would build a premium executive network across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific, Hildbrand said previously.

Aslam said given the size of the region, the decision to establish the partnership’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Auckland was significant.

A group with links through iwi Ngāti Whātua and the Te Tai Tokerau region performed a wero and pōwhiri today.

The facility is off the domestic terminal at Walsh Brothers Place, a road named for New Zealand aviation pioneers Austin Leonard (Leo) and Vivian Walsh.

Guests at the signing ceremony today included people from Auckland Airport, Air Napier and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

PrivatPort provides ground-handling expertise for VIP passengers, crews and private jets, and advice or support for traffic rights and landing permits.

SO Capital already has aviation interests, including through private jet, freight and charter operator Air Napier, which Aslam owns.

John Weekes is a business journalist covering aviation. He previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics and courts.