Robert Westerhoven is the ops

manager for the corporate flight

division of Bertelsmann AG and it is

his opinion that in Germany at least,

TAG at Tempelhof are setting the

industry standard.

He told EBAN: “It’s a very good

FBO. We’re doing a lot of flying into

and out of Tempelhof and we’re very

satisfied with the service being

offered. We like the way the people

work with us to produce what we

want of them.”

Interestingly, Westerhoven – who

is Dutch by birth – says good

customer service is none too easy to

come by in Germany. He said: “It’s

very difficult to get the right staff in

Germany, to get staff who are serviceminded.

I believe it’s a mentality issue

– a lot of people in Germany simply

don’t like working for other people.

They think it’s silly to carry bags for

other people and ‘do their dishes’.

At the present time, Bertelsmann

operates two Falcon 50s and a

Sikorsky S-76 purely for its own

company purposes. Westerhoven

says he likes to get on corporate

flights whenever he can, so he can

assess the scene at each airport.

He said: “We think it’s important

that we know the situation at each

airport and that we can impart that

knowledge to our passengers. The

Board here is essentially happy with

the service it receives at most FBOs.”