Nantes is the economic centre of western France and one of the country’s fastest-growing cities. Aerospace is the heavyweight: Airbus builds major fuselage and wing components at Bouguenais, right beside the airport, and at nearby Saint-Nazaire, where the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard also builds some of the largest cruise ships in the world. Food processing, marine renewables, digital services and a large university complete the picture, and the city hosts regular conferences and trade events. Its cultural life is lively, from the Château des ducs de Bretagne and the mechanical elephant of Les Machines de l’île to La Folle Journée, the classical music festival held at the start of each year. The Muscadet vineyards lie just to the south-east and the beaches of La Baule are about 75 km away.
Rail from Paris takes around two hours, and connections from other European cities are limited, so private aviation saves real time for site visits and board meetings. Private jets use Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE) at Bouguenais, about 8 km south-west of the city centre and next to the Airbus site. Typical flight times are around 1 hour from Paris, around 1 hour 15 minutes from London and around 1 hour 30 minutes from Geneva. The Jet Collection arranges the right aircraft, handling at Nantes Atlantique and onward cars to the city, Saint-Nazaire or the Atlantic coast.
