Güven Air of Turkey has been offering air charter since 1997. Towards the end of last year, the company opened its own FBO in Istanbul, and says that this has cut its costs by 30 per cent. EBAN talked to Serkan Yazicioglu, flight operations coordinator, about the move; it seems the first priority is to attract the attention of key charter companies:\r"We expect that business will increase because there are only a couple of FBO service providers in Istanbul. Most of them are not commercial companies. Güven Air is an air taxi company serving as a real professional in the market in our region. We are planning to be contracted with every FBO operating aircraft in Europe which we use when we fly to their airports. For example, Jet Aviation, TAG etc do not work with an FBO in Istanbul. Now they have an opportunity," said Yazicioglu. \r24-hour operations at Istanbul are supported by local Met and Notam offices, and SITA. Hangar facilities cater for aircraft up to the Hawker 800XP; cleaning, catering and line checks are available, as is customs. \rThere are three vip lounges at the FBO; the largest is 200 square metres in size, with a bar and multimedia TV. The other two offer a private bedroom, en suite bathroom and board room. Güven Air offers a Mercedes vehicle and security staff where required; all staff are said to be bilingual.\rGüven Air's charter fleet consists of two Beechjet 400As, one Hawker 800XP, one Beechcraft B-200 and one Bell 430. "We can pick up passengers from Istanbul city centre with our helicopter and depart from Istanbul airport, avoiding the mess of the main terminals," remarked Yazicioglu. \r"After becoming the biggest corporate fleet owner in Turkey, it was a must for us to operate an FBO. It was a guarantee for our own customers that they would find the same quality on the ground which they used to have in the aircraft. The second reason was the reduction of our FBO costs. Having six aircraft in your fleet blows your traffic and ramp costs," he explained. "Our aim now is to become an authorised maintenance shop. After this, we will be a full facility - a corporate aviation centre."