Company News
Skybreak November, 06 2015

Chestnut Tree House children see behind the scenes at Gatwick Airport

Your Service Centre Gatwick arranged an extra special, all-access trip to Gatwick Airport for a group of five children from Chestnut Tree House children's hospice. 

Your Service Centre Gatwick which operates in partnership with Skybreak, one of the leading customer service and travel recovery companies within the UK, collaborated with low-cost airline Norwegian, Gatwick Airport and No1 Lounges to create this unique experience.

Lecia Taylor, Director at Skybreak, explains: 'Working in close partnership with Gatwick Airport has given us an insight into how they work with Chestnut Tree House as their nominated charity. As the children's hospice for East and Sussex and South East Hampshire, this organisation needs all the support it can get and we wanted to get involved too. By organising a once-in-a-lifetime VIP visit, we were able to give the children a fun and rewarding experience.'

The day involved being escorted through security, a visit on board a Boeing 737-800 Norwegian aircraft and then lunch in the recently opened No1 Traveller Clubrooms within the South Terminal. Once on board the group met all the crew, toured the aircraft and sat in the cockpit with the pilot.

Paul Burgess, Ground Operations Manager at Norwegian said: “The joy of aviation can lift people’s spirits so it’s a pleasure to welcome on board children from the Chestnut Tree House charity. As Norwegian continues to grow at Gatwick and in the UK, we’re pleased to be able to play a positive role in the local community by helping young people reach for the skies.”

Leaving the plane, the children were then escorted to No1 Traveller's Clubrooms. Launched in September these rooms have the best views of the runway and provided the perfect backdrop for everyone to enjoy lunch.

Corporate Fundraiser from Chestnut Tree House Terrina Barnes said: “ We are really grateful for the amazing support that Your Service Centre Gatwick has given to Chestnut Tree House and to some of the children. To see behind the scenes at Gatwick Airport and being able to experience going into the cockpit of the Norwegian plane, speaking to the pilot and cabin crew was just a truly wonderful experience for them all. Being treated to a lovely lunch in the No1 lounge which looked out over the runway was fantastic. We would like to thank everyone at the airport who made this special trip possible."

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