Stamford is the largest city in Connecticut’s Fairfield County and one of the most important financial centres outside Manhattan. Hedge funds, trading desks and corporate headquarters are concentrated downtown and at Harbor Point on the waterfront, and neighbouring Greenwich has long been home to many investment firms and their founders. The Gold Coast towns of Darien, New Canaan and Westport add large private estates, yacht clubs and well-regarded schools, so many executives live here and either commute into New York or work from local offices. Weekday business travel dominates, with summer and the holiday season bringing more leisure traffic to the shoreline.
The gateway for private aviation is Westchester County Airport (HPN), just across the New York state line, about 9 miles (14 km) west of downtown Stamford and around 20 minutes by car. The airport is a long-standing base for corporate flight departments, and it avoids the congestion of the New York area’s large commercial airports. Flying privately turns a trip to Boston, Chicago or Palm Beach into a day’s work rather than two. Flight times are around 50 minutes from Boston, about 2 hours from Chicago and roughly 2 hours 30 minutes from Palm Beach. Aircraft parking at Westchester can be tight on busy days, so early arrangements help. The Jet Collection books the aircraft, arranges handling at Westchester and has a driver ready for the short run to Stamford or Greenwich.
