Australia’s most impressive airport terminal is one you’ve unlikely ever heard about, let alone one you’ll ever get to experience.
Known as the Melbourne Jet Base, the private transport hub has recently received a $100 million investment by development tycoon and private jet owner himself, Paul Little.
Designed by Cox Architecture the airport terminal/first class lounge hybrid rolled into one is now capable of handling 200 private aircraft per month following an extensive facelift. The Jet Base plans to establish itself as the first port of call for private jets into the country and the hub for domestic private jet travel.
The space, which isn’t far from Melbourne’s international terminal, features a concierge, chauffeur-driven limousines, a helicopter transfer service, on-site hotel suites and an Aurora day spa similar to those featured in Qantas’ First Class lounges.
The terminal offers “respectful customs and quarantine processing” with onboard screening a possible. Inside, “Melbourne Jet Base’s architectural expression is defined by its elegant and iconic wing form, articulated using aviation-inspired materiality and a play on the poetic tension of earth and sky,” the firm says.
“Conversely, the warm interior spaces embrace a uniquely Australian palette of materials, textures and colours” including black Brazillian tiles, are “designed to both calm and comfort those in transit.”
The centrepiece of the terminal is Paul Little’s Douglas DC-3 Kanana, built in 1938 and completely resorted following service in the RAAF and with domestic airlines ANA and Ansett. The Melbourne Jet Base reportedly already houses three VIP jets from Crown Resorts along with Little’s own Gulfstream 650.
Source: ABT
