European Business Air News June 2013

ISSUE 237

JUNE 2013

Heli-Link brings the EC155 to Switzerland

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ME & MY AIRCRAFT

NetJets adds Phenoms to the European mix

Mark Wilson, president of NetJets Europe, and Ernest Edwards, president of Embraer Executive Jets, celebrate the fact that NetJets will be operating the Phenom 300 in Europe by early next year. The fractional operator is also to add Bombardier’s latest revelation – the Challenger 350 – to its worldwide fleet. See full story on page 4.

Zurich-based business charter operator Heli-Link, sister company to Jet-Link and now subsidiary company of DC Aviation of Germany, has taken delivery of a 2008-build EC155B1, configured with eight vip seats. It is the first of the type to be registered in Switzerland and will be available for third party charter with immediate effect, joining an existing EC-120B in the fleet.

Heli-Link has been in business for over 20 years and has been the official helicopter partner to the WEF in Davos for more than 10 years. “We are delighted to be adding this new EC155B1 to our charter fleet,” comments founding ceo Hanspeter Candrian. “Heli Asset, which brokered the sale, did a terrific job in facilitating the sale of the helicopter to us.”

The boutique company remains fully autonomous following the ownership change, but its recent co-operation with DC Aviation means that it can now offer widened charter services on aircraft with a European operator’s certificate to complement its long-established Swiss AOC. Heli-Link was founded in 1990 by former Swissair captain Candrian to operate helicopter charters. By 1997 it saw strong demand for a wide range of services culminating in the launch of JetLink AG for the fixed wing business aviation sector. Today, Jet-Link operates a fleet of Falcon 7x and Learjet 45 aircraft. It undertakes its own executive handling at Zurich airport. In March this year the company was sold to DC Aviation.

Heli Asset was founded by Emmanuel Dupuy in mid-2011.

Its sales professionals are organised by helicopter model, with each being expert in their respective markets.

Roving entrepreneur selects efficient Eclipse for travel throughout Africa South African businessman Kobus Dicks has taken delivery of an Eclipse jet, the first to be operated anywhere in Africa. “I am extremely pleased with the efficiency and speed of my Eclipse,” he says. “My business takes me throughout the country on a weekly basis, and I’m able to visit multiple facilities in a truly advanced single pilot aircraft that has wholly surpassed my expectations.”

Eclipse Aerospace and National Airways Corporation, Eclipse’s distributor for Southern Africa, worked to obtain the aircraft’s type certificate from the South African CAA, following its first appearance in Africa at the AAD

JP Fourie of NAC, with Eclipse owner Kobus Dicks, Ken Ross, Michael Martin and Saverio Bellomo of Eclipse Aerospace.

show at Waterkloof in September last year. It is the 46th country in which the Eclipse is certified for use.

SimCom Training Centers, located in Florida, has been approved as the Eclipse simulator training service by the SACAA. Francois Naude, the first South African instructor to be rated on the Eclipse, and Colin Fletcher from NAC both attended the FAA and SACAA approved Eclipse OEM pilot training programme in Chicago, Illinois.

JP Fourie, NAC’s director of fixed wing sales, says: “It has been an absolute delight to work with the Eclipse team to make this a reality. We are now perfectly positioned to service our customers in Africa and South Africa with a product that is top of its class, and fully supported by Eclipse

Aerospace, who excel in meeting and exceeding customer expectations.”

Ken Ross, Eclipse Aerospace president of global services, comments: “We are excited to welcome Kobus Dicks as the first Eclipse Jet owner, not just in South Africa but on the African continent.”

National Airways Corporation was established in 1946 and has become the largest general aviation company in Africa. From its headquarters at Lanseria airport in Johannesburg, NAC operates a South African network of offices in Cape Town, Durban, Grand Central airport, Wonderboom airport and Rand airport.

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2 JUNE 2013

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

Key account managers offer ExecuJet customers comprehensive support ExecuJet Europe is offering a key account manager service for aircraft management clients which will channel all departmental issues such as operations, charter, maintenance, completions and accounting through one dedicated contact.

Eight key account managers are based in locations including Zurich, Geneva, London, Moscow and Kiev.

The team is headed up by European director of account management Andreas Pfisterer who has been with ExecuJet Europe for almost 10 years.

Gerrit Basson, md, says: “This is a significant investment on our part, but takes our customer service to new industry levels. Our clients now receive a highly personalised service resembling a boutique private banker approach, where their key account managers support them across all services related to their aircraft.

“The service is being well accepted and our customers are very satisfied.

We look forward to expanding our team as our fleet grows.”

In addition, ExecuJet is adding

a range of aircraft to its European managed and charter fleet, including a Dassault Falcon 7X and a Bombardier Challenger 300, both being based in Copenhagen and available for charter, plus two managed Gulfstream G550s based in Switzerland.

Separately, CAE has signed a multi-year contract renewal with ExecuJet Aviation Group for business aviation training on more than 40 aircraft types including models from Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault, Gulfstream, Hawker Beechcraft, Boeing, Airbus and Embraer.

ExecuJet pilots from the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australia will train at CAE centres in locations worldwide.

“We are very pleased with the high quality instruction and flexible service our pilots are receiving at CAE centres worldwide,” says Quintin Cairncross, group flight ops director.

“We have come to rely on CAE for the training and safe operations that we pride ourselves on.”

ExecuJet Europe introduced members of its key account manager team at EBACE. From left are Vladimir Velebit, Christian Mölleney, managing director Gerrit Basson, Alex Shkurin, European director of account management Andreas Pfisterer and Sergey Sheshenya.

Beechcraft’s Richard Emery (left) and vp sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa Scott Plumb (right) hand over the Baron G58 to SaxonAir’s Chris Mace and Alex Durand.

SaxonAir adds flexible Baron to mixed fleet Norwich airport-based SaxonAir took delivery of a new Beechcraft Baron G58 at EBACE in Geneva.

The operator plans to use the aircraft for company transportation as well as making it available for charter. “We were looking primarily for a company aircraft that could also fill a niche area in our charter fleet,” says charter ceo Alex Durand.

“Operating a mixed jet and helicopter fleet efficiently and most effectively requires crew and support services to be travelling between the aircraft locations, and the Baron G58 allows us to do this, providing speed, comfort and maximum flexibility.”

SaxonAir has now secured base facilities at London Biggin Hill and Cannes in the south of France as part of plans to facilitate future aircraft management growth.

“The Baron is ideal for executive transport and charter operations and

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will be a great addition to SaxonAir’s fleet,” says Richard Emery, Beechcraft president, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. “The craftsmanship appeals to pilots and passengers, with a premium cabin that provides the best ride of any piston engine aircraft. But more important than style and comfort, the Baron G58 is a powerful and safe aircraft offering shorter trip times and lower operating costs.”

The G58’s flight deck includes fully integrated Garmin G1000 avionics with a GFC 700 flight control system and GWX 68 colour weather radar.

A new worldwide AOC will now allow the company’s jet fleet to expand its area of operation into new and lucrative business aviation markets concentrating on Africa, the Middle East and Russia.

Christopher Mace, group commercial director, says: “The new

licence capability will increase our area of operation into new emerging markets, perfect for our long-range Hawker 900XP midsize jet. It also enables us to offer worldwide support for managed aircraft clients.”

SaxonAir’s clients include many blue chip companies, individual business people, sports teams, musicians, the offshore energy industry and local private families. However, Mace adds: “It’s not all champagne and caviar. This misconception often means that the true value and accessibility of business aviation flights can be overlooked. Of course, luxuries can always be available onboard if requested.”

The current charter fleet now consists of five jet and turboprop aircraft, from light to midsize, and two helicopters. This fleet is operated from Norwich, bases around London and also Greece.

FAI chooses Al Bateen for Middle East stopovers German air ambulance specialist and vvip jet operator FAI (Flight Ambulance International) rent-a-jet AG has settled on Al Bateen Executive airport as its preferred stop-over airport in the Middle East region.

Operated by Abu Dhabi Airports Company, the airport will have two fully dedicated air ambulance aircraft, a Learjet 60 and Challenger 604, based at its facilities and served

by German medical teams.

FAI selected Al Bateen due to its ability to serve increasing client demand from the region, the Far East and Asia. Yousif Hassan Al Hammadi, general manager, says: “With its world class vip services, 24-hour operational schedule and close

proximity to leading medical facilities in the heart of Abu Dhabi, Al Bateen is the ideal stop-over for FAI’s medical service.”

Earlier this year it hosted the Abu Dhabi Air Expo 2013 and reports that the total value of sales reached in excess of AED three billion, with 13,000 visitors and more than 160 exhibitors in attendance.

Headquartered in Nuremburg, FAI is a global leader in medical evacuation and transport. It also operates one of Europe’s largest fleets of business jets, and one of the world’s largest Learjet fleets. Aircraft management and CAMO services are available to aircraft owners within the UAE.

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Corporatejets has agreed sponsorships with a golf player and with Spanish tennis player David Marrero who will now use a drinking cup with the operator’s logo. The company will fly him on personal and official trips, and will be able to interview him on-board the aircraft. The agreement was signed during the celebration of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Trofeo Conde de Godó, one of the most important events in the ATP circuit, under the watchful gaze of the participants and guests at the event.

David Marrero was born in Gran Canaria and is a Barcelona resident. He has developed his career as a professional since 2001, standing out especially in the field of doubles, where he has won seven titles and has contested another six ATP finals. He and his doubles partner Fernando Verdasco are currently ranked number five in the world.

Corporatejets has also signed a collaboration agreement with online system Fly Victor.

JUNE 2013 3

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

Pair of Nextants are a first for visionary Time Air With its acquisition of a second Nextant 400XT, Czech charter operator Time Air has become the first European Nextant fleet operator.

Martin Pražský, md, says: “The aircraft has been an incredibly popular addition to our charter service offering due to its low operating cost and outstanding dispatch reliability. We have flown 600 hours in the first nine months, and demand increases month over month.

“We had very high expectations and the aircraft has met them. It is the perfect jet for the charter market.

In addition, customer support has been superb.”

With its range of 2,003 nm, Nextant Aerospace believes the 400XTi is ideally suited to the European market, where it has made a strong sales debut. “It is about half the price of its competitors, with significantly lower maintenance and operating costs,” says the company.

Its full factory warranty is backed by a worldwide network of owned and authorised service centres and the world’s largest inventory of Beechjet 400 rotable parts. Now fully EASA-certified, demand for the low cost jet is expected to grow even further.

“This second order from Time Air is a great endorsement for the Nextant 400XTi and its appeal to the

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Time Air md Martin Pražský, centre, celebrates with Nextant’s vp for the eastern hemisphere Peter Walker, Jay Heublein for global sales and marketing, president Sean McGeough and Time Air ground ops manager Vladislav Prokop.

European charter market,” says Jay Heublein, Nextant’s evp global sales and marketing. “Pražský had great vision early on of the potential for the

400XT. He made that vision a reality and proved the aircraft’s value to the charter market.”

The Nextant 400XTi model is a

completely-rebuilt Beechjet 400A/XP with Williams FJ44-3AP engines and the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 integrated avionics suite.

Air Hamburg books first enhanced Legacy 600

Various emergency scenarios were trialled using the Ka-226T.

Ka-226T tries out successfully for Winter Olympics In preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, a Ka-226T light multipurpose helicopter developed by the Russian Helicopters company has completed a series of successful trial SAR missions.

Test flights of the aircraft equipped with a medical module took place in the Krasnaya Polyana region near Sochi. Flights were conducted with the rescue service of Rosengineering Operation which provides services for the maintenance of ski resorts, senior engineers from Russian Helicopters’ flight test facility and medical personnel from the Southern Regional Center for Emergency Medicine. Head doctor Igor Deryugin noted the comfort and safety of loading a victim onboard and that the medical module: “Allows full-scale medical help inflight, including extended resuscitation procedures and necessary invasive procedures.”

Pilot Yury Timofeev and co-pilot Pavel Kalinin conducted the test flights according to the some of the more likely scenarios that may occur during the games. An evacuation of mock victims with moderate to severe injuries was conducted, with an inflight resuscitation practised in the medical module. Landing on ski slopes and rough mountainous terrain was rehearsed, as was loading rescue teams with mock victims, all with the help of on-board equipment.

The Ka-226T with Turbomeca Arrius 2G1 engine sports a modulebased construction and can be used as a medevac, patrol or airborne insertion helicopter. Modern pilot navigation equipment allows the Ka-226T to manoeuvre in dense urban areas and mountainous terrain, while the lack of a tail rotor and its compact size allow it to land on small helipads.

Embraer’s enhanced Legacy 600 jet will enter service first in Germany in the second half of this year when it joins the fleet of Air Hamburg.

Highlight features are a revised cabin interior and new Honeywell Primus Elite avionics.

“Air Hamburg started receiving requests for charter flights to destinations that were out of reach for our current fleet,” says ceo Floris Helmers. “Our limited baggage capacity and range made the step into the super-midsize category necessary to fulfill customer needs.

After evaluating the market for new aircraft the Legacy 600 was the best choice.”

The aircraft offers three comfortable cabin zones for up to 14

passengers, with Honeywell Ovation Select cabin management system, high-definition video, blu-ray player and a 3D moving map. In addition Embraer has improved the cabin acoustics comfort with a 5 dB SIL noise reduction, better interior storage and added a new, wireless handset Iridium telephone system.

The company is also offering restyled seats with side-pocket storage and greater swivel movement in the third zone.

The Legacy 600 can fly with 14 passengers, under NBAA IFR conditions, non-stop from Hamburg to Moscow, or from Hamburg to Dubai. It can also achieve Hamburg to Delhi or to Gander with four passengers on-board.

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4 JUNE 2013

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

LEA stretches its wings to Greece and beyond London Executive Aviation has opened its first international office in Athens, Greece, and joined up with the AirClub consortium of major European charter operators.

The latest addition to the LEA fleet, a Citation XLS, is now based in Athens and is available for charter.

The new office is being managed by Kimon Daniilidis, LEA’s business development manager, south east Europe and the Middle East, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the Greek business aviation industry. He is responsible for managing the aircraft, supporting customers and developing the new office, with a focus on new business opportunities.

Daniilidis says: “In spite of the current economic climate in Greece, the demand for private aircraft charter remains strong and now is an ideal time for LEA to establish a presence in the country. By basing the Citation XLS in Athens, not only is LEA well positioned to serve the Greek market, but also the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East, all of which are emerging business aviation markets with lots of potential in charter and aircraft management.”

George Galanopoulos, managing director, adds: “The opening of this new office marks a significant milestone in LEA’s strategy to widen the scope of its private charter and management services. Thanks to our considerable experience of managing aircraft on behalf of owners based in the likes of Russia and Estonia, we are very well placed to extend our expertise to new markets.

“In addition to the aircraft we now have based in Athens, we are currently talking to a number of

LEA’s decision to join AirClub was announced at EBACE.

existing and potential business aircraft owners in the region, with a view to adding their aircraft to our air operator’s certificate.”

LEA is the first UK operator to join up with AirClub. Chief executive Patrick Margetson-Rushmore says: “Through the sharing of principles and processes, we look forward to playing an important role in further improving standards and enhancing the overall customer experience.

“Our diverse range of aircraft, from the Citation Mustang and Phenom 300, to the Legacy 650 and Falcon 2000LX, complements the AirClub

fleet and will help to ensure that we can collectively serve the needs of every business aviation client.”

LEA becomes the ninth member of AirClub, which was founded in October 2012 with the mission of setting new industry standards through its alliance model. Christian Hatje, chairman of AirClub and PrivatAir’s svp business aviation, says: “Our vision is clear: To be the most advanced, leading global alliance of corporate jet operators. Our wide variety of operators and experts makes us stronger than any other player in the industry.”

The announcement was made at EBACE. Hatje adds: “From the outset, it was clear that AirClub needed a partner in the UK, so we are more than happy to announce that our friends at LEA are joining the alliance and that AirClub now represents a fleet of more than 127 aircraft.

“As a premium player in the industry and a well-respected operator in the UK, LEA not only shares the AirClub values, but its great fleet is the perfect supplement for AirClub. Soon we will welcome business jet operators from the Middle East, Asia and the Americas.”

Belgium-based Lineage will offer five-zone comfort The first Embraer Lineage 1000 in Belgium, sold to an undisclosed private customer, is to be operated by FlyingGroup and available for thirdparty charter. Delivery is scheduled for the second half of 2013.

“We are delighted to introduce the Lineage 1000, which boasts a cabin volume up to two-and-a-half times larger than traditional corporate jets in this category,” says Bernard van Milders, ceo of FlyingGroup. “The aircraft will join our fleet to complete our current aircraft portfolio and will allow us to offer for the first time an ultra-large aircraft which definitely meets our customers’ expectations.”

Embraer says that the Lineage 1000 is the only business jet in its category providing up to 19 passengers with five distinct and spacious cabin zones. Onboard amenities may include a queen-size bed, en-suite shower and complete audio and entertainment systems. A pressurised walk-in aft baggage area, which is the largest in its category, is conveniently accessible throughout the flight.

The Lineage has the ability to serve London City airport, from where it can fly non-stop services to Moscow, Istanbul, Cairo or the Canary Islands, or with one stop to Los Angeles, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

It can fly from Geneva to Dubai with 19 passengers.

NetJets looks to make its mark with Phenoms and Challengers in 2014 Bespoke ‘Signature Series’ variants of the Phenom 300 will be operating for NetJets Europe during next year, and the newly-launched Bombardier Challenger 350 may not be far behind it.

The Phenom 300 will become the first light cabin Signature Series aircraft to enter the European market, following the delivery of the first aircraft to the company’s US fleet during May. The first to arrive in Europe is expected in early 2014 with additional aircraft to arrive over the next few years.

“We are delighted that NetJets Europe will be receiving the Signature Series Phenom 300,” says Mark Wilson, NetJets Europe president.

“The high performance aircraft is ideally suited to our European customers for safety, reliability, interior comfort and operating efficiency. It will expand on the unparalleled offering and capabilities of the NetJets Europe fleet.”

“The NetJets order, one of the largest in our history, is a significant milestone for us,” says Ernest Edwards, president, Embraer Executive Jets. “It is a validation of our mission to raise the bar in the

NetJet’s Challenger 350 boasts a quiet cabin and hand crafted leather seats.

business aviation industry and introduce technology and amenities normally found in larger, more expensive executive jets to each segment of the corporate aviation industry. We are eager to reinforce the partnership we have forged with NetJets Europe to deliver its unique Signature Series Phenom 300 in the near future.”

Meanwhile NetJets was also revealed as the international launch partner of the new Bombardier Challenger 350 aircraft at a special event at the EBACE show.

“We are excited about the addition of our exclusive Challenger 350 aircraft to our fleet and the

tremendous value this aircraft will bring to our unmatched global capabilities and, most importantly, to our customers,” says NetJets chairman and ceo Jordan B Hansell.

“This distinctive super midsize aircraft will deliver an experience that meets our customers’ travel and comfort requirements. The inflight experience is exceptional and unlike any other. The aircraft has an exceptionally quiet cabin allowing both serenity and conversation, soft, hand crafted leathers, meticulously designed wood finishes, an inflight entertainment system offering choices for every taste, and a single service beverage maker, all designed specifically by NetJets.”

Hansell adds: “The high design was all in an effort to allow our customers to relax and enjoy their flight whether for work or family. This state-of-the art jet’s cabin, designed in partnership with Bombardier Aerospace, will provide our discerning customers the best flight experience, along with the safety and reliability they expect from the worldwide leader in private aviation.”

François-Xavier Moutel, ceo of Abalone Group, with the TBM850 Elite.

Productivity boost draws French business to the TBM850 The Abalone Group, a Nantes-based employment agency company, has taken delivery of the latest DaherSocata TBM850 Elite turboprop aircraft, and will use it for longdistance trips with company executives and managers.

“We have been working on this project for the past year in conjunction with our business development plan, with the full understanding that while regular trips are needed, they are timeconsuming and create stress and fatigue,” explains Sacha Moutel, project manager at the Abalone Group. “The TBM 850 Elite will help

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us increase our productivity, bringing the best in private aircraft travel together with rapid en-route times and highly cost-efficient operations.”

Moutel points out that a corporate aircraft ensures access to cities which are under-served or not serviced at all by scheduled direct commercial flights, and opens small airports that are convenient and closer to the final destination.

“We are proud that a dynamic company such as the Abalone Group has selected our TBM 850 Elite for its corporate transportation needs,” says Nicolas Chabbert, the senior vp of Daher-Socata’s aircraft division.

JUNE 2013 5

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

Stephane Jolin, director of maintenance, and Jean-Claude Bonneville, chairman of Air King Jet with JSSI’s Jean Jacques Poirier and Neil Book.

Air King Jet aims for budget stability Air King Jet, a Geneva-based private flight operation, has enrolled its new Global 6000 aircraft’s Rolls-Royce engines onto the JSSI Platinum Program and added coverage for the Honeywell APU. “We also have two other Bombardier aircraft on JSSI programmes so we have seen

the value the programmes bring to our operation,� JeanClaude Bonneville, chairman of Air King Jet comments. “JSSI goes beyond providing budget stability by delivering exceptional service. We get the flexibility of choosing the maintenance facility we prefer and benefit

from JSSI’s substantial buying power as one of the largest purchasers of business aviation heavy maintenance in the industry.�

Bonneville has worked with JSSI for many years, as his previous Falcon aircraft have been enrolled on programmes.

Jota aims to turn charter broker into a racing driver An aspiring racing driver has taken the first step towards making his competitive debut by emerging victorious in Jota Aviation’s ‘Broker to Racer Challenge’ karting event.

New for 2013, the challenge will transform a private aviation broker into a fully-fledged racing driver with the help of Le Mans 24 Hours outfit Jota Sport. The 100 per cent funded prize includes a programme of driver tuition, ARDS racing licence application, personal fitness assessment and training with support from performance progress lab Zer06, and their first ever race at a major British circuit.

Brokers registered their interest for the event via email before 40 participants were selected at random. The challenge took place at Buckmore Park, one of Britain’s premier karting venues, with drivers competing in practice, heats and a winner-takes-all grand finale.

And while a friendly atmosphere prevailed throughout the evening, the on-track competition was turned up a notch as the chance to swap karts for cars drew nearer.

Following a thrilling decider, victory was secured by Ed Gillet, cargo account manager at Air Charter Service, who triumphed in a closely fought contest with Jet Hire Direct’s Richard Worthington. Gillet will now begin preparations to trade one of Buckmore Park’s karts for a highpowered racing car, with entry into an event late in the 2013 season planned for Jota's inaugural broker-turned-racer.

Meanwhile, Jota Aviation has added a Raisbeck 200 King Air to its fleet. Providing superior comfort thanks to greater cabin room for hand luggage and catering facilities, as well as wing lockers for expanded baggage space, the upgraded aircraft will allow Jota Aviation to carry up to seven passengers at faster speeds and across greater distances. It has noisereducing four-bladed propellers, dual aft body strakes to decrease cabin vibration and an inflight information screen. It will be based at Southend airport. “The addition of the Raisbeck King Air 200 to our fleet allows us to offer a wider range of services to our ever-growing client base,� comments commercial director Andy Green. “As well as vip charter, we are able to provide rapid reaction services to the oil and gas, medical, automotive, and AOG markets. I am pleased to say that the new 200 enhances both our capabilities and availability in these areas.�

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Steffen Fries and MHS Aviation’s Learjet 60.

Learjet 60 gives demand for MHS’ services a boost Visitors to EBACE had the chance to step aboard MHS Aviation’s Learjet 60, although demand for the company’s refurbished Challenger 604 meant that it was too busy on a series of charter flights to attend.

Attendance at EBACE highlighted the company’s increased activity in the charter market and it has seen charter flight demand go up by 35 per cent over the last year.

Speaking at the show Steffen Fries, ceo, said: “We see this as an excellent event to showcase our Learjet 60. We are finding that demand for the aircraft is growing and feel that its presence on the static display enables visitors to really see and experience what it is to fly with us.�

The aircraft is equipped with a brand new interior and is one of MHS Aviation’s most popular. It is crewed for 365 days a year and, as no owner approval is required, it can be available at very short notice.

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6 JUNE 2013

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

O P E R AT I O N S N E W S . . . capabilities. Honeywell customers will benefit from Jetex’s international trip planning services, local 24-hour support for flight logistics and after-trip concierge care.

Embraer expands support

Frédéric Le Hénaff of the Marrakech Airshow, ceo of Morocco’s Dahlia Jets Hind El Achchabi, and AfBAA chairman Tarek Ragheb announce the first AfBAA Expo.

AfBAA unveils Expo in Marrakech The African Business Aviation Association is to host its own exhibition, in conjunction with the Marrakech Airshow in April 2014. It is expected to cover 50,000 sq m, with an expansive static display situated adjacent to the runway to enable demonstration flights for potential customers.

This will be the first time that the Morrocan show will have an integrated business aviation component. Frédéric Le Hénaff, exhibition director, says: “While the commercial side of aviation has been struggling on the African continent, the business aircraft market is expanding rapidly. We see African business aviation attracting investors and interest from across the globe.”

Dassault overhauls Falcon spares pricing Some 18,500 more spare parts are being re-priced by Dassault. “As much as we’ve reduced prices, the perception is still that in some instances they remain too high,” says Jacques Chauvet, senior vp of customer service. “Nearly everyone has an example of a part whose size, technology or material of construction suggests one level of price but the invoice turns out to be quite expensive, leaving the customer perplexed.”

Prices will now take into account customer expectations as well as production costs, a concept which has its roots in the car industry.

Gilmour heads Air BP David Gilmour has moved from coo to chief executive of Air BP, replacing Andy Holmes. “We will continue to invest in our operations

and infrastructure to support the needs of our commercial, military and general aviation customers around the globe,” he says.

Embraer has expanded its authorised service centre network in Europe and the Middle East. Jet Aviation Basel and Cologne-based Nayak Aircraft Services have been appointed to provide line and base maintenance for the Legacy 600 and 650, while RUAG, based in Oberpfaffenhofen, and already a Legacy 600 and Legacy 650 line and base maintenance facility, has also been appointed for the Lineage 1000.

Inflite The Jet Centre at Stansted, Nayak and ExecuJet in Dubai (UAE) will be authorised for the Legacy 500 and 450.

TAG adds Sion to network TAG Aviation has opened its passenger, FBO/handling and aircraft maintenance centre at Sion airport, near Lake Geneva. It features a passenger terminal with three vip salons and a dedicated pilot lounge, 3,200 sq m hangar and 12,000 sqm of aircraft parking.

Gulfstream sets up London design centre

Michael Clementi, president of aviation at World Fuel Services with Shane O’Hare, ceo of Royal Jet.

Royal Jet joins the elite Royal Jet at Abu Dhabi has become the second FBO in the Middle East to carry the Air Elite service designation. The network now includes 30 FBO locations worldwide, and each must meet a number of airport, facility and service quality standards to qualify for membership. “We are very proud to welcome Royal Jet to the Air Elite network. The quality of its facility and its reputation makes it a perfect fit,” says Michael Clementi, president aviation at World Fuel Services.

Jetex and Honeywell team up A partnership agreement will allow Jetex and Honeywell Global Data Center customers to access both companies’ services from the fourth quarter of this year.

Jetex will resell Honeywell’s flight support services, including a specialised offering for its Flight Sentinel dispatching and datalink

Every problem has a simple solution

Gulfstream will open a sales and design centre in London in June and has appointed three independent sales representatives: Tim Leacock Aircraft Sales in the UK, ATP Aviation in Ankara, Turkey, and Loyd’s Aviation Group in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The company has also positioned Pete Buresh, its regional vp for international aircraft sales/Africa, in Cape Town.

The London sales and design centre will give European, African and other international customers access to the acquisition and design stages of a Gulfstream business jet.

CAE adds Gulfstream training CAE is to add Gulfstream G450/G550 training at its London centre from 2014.

Schiphol gains more indoor parking Maintenance providers JetSupport now has access to an additional 8,000 sq m indoor aircraft parking hangar, formerly used by Martinair, at congested Amsterdam Schiphol airport. The hangar will be used only for the company’s maintenance customer aircraft.

VistaJet signs up 50 aircraft for engine support VistaJet has enrolled its fleet of Global 5000 and 6000 aircraft onto the Jet Support Services Inc (JSSI) hourly cost maintenance programmes, in an agreement valued at more than US$205m. The 50 aircraft are part of VistaJet’s largest order in aviation history placed in November last year.

“Having our engines and APUs on a JSSI maintenance programme is critical to the VistaJet business model,” says founder and chairman Thomas Flohr. “In addition to providing budget stability, JSSI adds another dimension of service to the standard maintenance programme. We currently have two Global aircraft and our AugustaWestland helicopter enrolled with JSSI, and are delighted to increase our business with them as our worldwide fleet grows.”

The Platinum engine programme for the Rolls-Royce BR710A2-20 that powers the Global 5000 and Global 6000 aircraft offers all-inclusive, hourly cost maintenance to provide budget stability.

The programme for the Honeywell RE220 will cover scheduled and unscheduled events for VistaJet’s APUs, as well as life limited components.

Unlike other APU programmes, there is no buy-in requirement and one annual payment.

ABS Jet’s Vladimir Petak: welcoming VistaJet’s clients.

In a separate deal, ABS Jets will handle all VistaJet aircraft flying in and out of the Czech and Slovak republics.

The in-country partnership aims to give VistaJet customers and crew a seamless transition from the aircraft to their onward destination.

“Our standards, aircraft and outlook reflect our commitment to providing the very best experience for anyone travelling with us,” says ABS Jets ceo Vladimir Petak. “I look forward to welcoming many VistaJet aircraft to our facilities.”

Ian Moore, VistaJet cco, adds: “We have every confidence that the extremely high standards our customers are accustomed to in the cabin will be extended on the ground.”

Jim Allmon hands over the second Caravan XP42A performance upgrade to Heath Haley.

Modified Caravan takes the heat of Dubai in its stride Skydive Dubai has received a second Blackhawk-modified Caravan 208B for its skydiving activities in the desert conditions of Dubai.

Chief pilot Heath Haley believes the region is on its way to becoming the world’s best skydiving resort. He adds: “We are in the process of redefining the skydiving experience.

From scratch, we have been hard at work creating the single most incredible dropzone in the world, right in the heart of Dubai. Since purchasing our first XP powered Caravan 208B from Blackhawk, I have

noticed a major jump in my business.”

President and ceo of Blackhawk Modifications Jim Allmon says: “I am beyond pleased that we can provide Skydive Dubai with its second XP42A performance upgrade. Operators like these are the reason why Blackhawk designed this package. The extremely hot summers in Dubai are the perfect match for the XP42 upgrade to the Caravan. While others are grounded due to the heat, the Blackhawk equipped 208B is flying missions, making money.”

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EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

PrivatAir signs up for time-saving operations software

Expanding ACS passes safety audit Air Charter Scotland has added a first Citation CJ3 to its substantial Citation CJ2 fleet. The aircraft was manufactured in 2007 and is now available for charter.

The aircraft has a range of 1,875 nm, enabling trips such as Luton to the Canary Islands, Larnaka and Moscow with ease. The longer cabin provides extra space, allowing additional leg room for a more comfortable flight.

“We have a satellite telephone on board, as well as Airshow for passenger convenience,” says ground operations director Derek Thomson.

This year has been an expansionary one so far for Air Charter Scotland, which recently gained FAA Part 129 approval for its operations within the US. It has also added a Challenger 601 to its fleet, which supplements its existing fleet of Legacy 650, Gulfstream G200 and Citations.

The Challenger was delivered in March, has nine seats and is based at Stansted airport.

Derek Thomson, director of Glasgowbased Air Charter Scotland, accepts a plaque marking the company’s newlyachieved Wyvern Wingman safety audit status.

EBAA’s Brian Humphries hands over Tyrol Air Ambulance’s platinum award to Manfred Helldoppler and flight ops manager Karl Baumgartner. © Darrin Vanselow.

Decades of safe flying bring award recognition for Bosch and Tyrol Four European companies have been recognised for their safe operations as recipients of the EBAA Safety of Flight Awards, presented at May’s EBACE. The award highlights a continued focus on maintaining and improving safety best practices in the companies’ flight departments.

Two companies, Robert Bosch GmbH Corporate Aviation and Tyrol Air Ambulance, were given the top platinum award for achieving at least 50 years or 100,000 hours of safe flying.

Tyrol md Manfred Helldoppler says this is the first time an air ambulance company has received the platinum

award, adding: “In 2010 and 2011 our safety records were recognised with silver and gold awards. We are really proud that we were able to demonstrate our excellent standards again this year. Our company made safety an important part of the organisational culture.”

VistaJet received the gold award for achieving 40 years or 80,000 hours of safe flying while FAI rent-a-jet AG was given the bronze award for at least 20 years or 40,000 hours without an accident.

EBAA president Brian Humphries says: “I believe it is important that,

during each year’s EBACE event, we not only work to enhance our approach to business aviation safety, but also take a moment to recognise companies with a long-standing commitment to safety, as shown in their decades-long records for safe light. That’s why EBAA created these awards, and we’re delighted to recognise these companies.”

Bosch is a leading supplier of technology and services, filing several patents every day and promoting new inventions in areas ranging from automotive technology to power tools.

Supercar drivers offered Mustang experience Austria-based Citation Mustang operator GlobeAir has provided the services of its aircraft to participants of exclusive supercar event The Run To Monaco.

During this year’s run, 30 drivers and their co-drivers made their way from London to Monaco in time for the Grand Prix on May 26, a journey of approximately 1,500km.

With GlobeAir as official private jet partner, contestants were able to fly onwards after the Grand Prix from nearby St Tropez, an airport typically inaccessible to traditional airlines and other business jets, aboard GlobeAir’s Mustangs.

Mauro de Rosa, cmo, says: “We were excited to be part of such an exhilarating, high profile event.

There’s a strong synergy between our two companies, and we at GlobeAir share many values with the participants.

“We believe this event is a unique opportunity for like-minded people to meet and share their passion, something we ourselves get to do in our work every day, and we were given the opportunity to offer our services to facilitate travel for participants.

“Although The Run to Monaco is the only motor industry event that GlobeAir will attend this year, 2013 is another active year – our company will be involved in all sorts of events from lifestyle to sailing,” de Rosa adds.

GlobeAir believes that a sponsorship such as that of The Run to Monaco offers it a great opportunity to be in contact with a group of prospective customers that share a similar lifestyle and

passion. Says marketing manager Saskia Mehring: “We are of course expecting and hoping to gain a solid amount of business from a sponsorship like this, however, the return on investment is not simple to calculate immediately. The real value lies within the relationship you build with the customers over the years and not in selling just one single flight to them.”

The run’s founder and ceo Chris Welch adds: “Bringing a private aviation partner into the mix offers us the possibility to provide an extra element of luxury, which our participants expect from us.”

GlobeAir founder and ceo Bernhard Fragner believes a shift in the charter market towards very light jets has worked in the company’s favour and is the reason why it ended last year on a high. “We bet on the right horse at the right time,” he says.

“For our future the shift in the charter market means we will base our sales strategy on expert views, such as that of Richard Koe from WINGX, as well as the expectation that the charter market will continue to change in our favour.”

WINGX provides intelligence on business aviation and managing director Koe reveals: “We have taken a look at the VLJ and a peer group of light jets, in terms of fleet development and flight activity since 2008, and several highlights show up.

Across this fleet, VLJs have increased their share of activity by almost 10 times in the last five years, even while overall European charter activity has subsided since 2008.”

PrivatAir has signed up to become a user of FL3XX operations software, which should be in service by August this year, replacing its own in-house developed system.

The FL3XX online system does front and back office sales, optimises resources, manages workflows, and checks legality of operations. Automanaged processes enable PrivatAir to focus on personal care of each customer, no matter how complex and last minute.

Christian Hatje, senior vp of PrivatAir, says: “The FL3XX process unloads our sales team from most trivial work: the information is automatically pre-selected for each customer and data entry is streamlined. Prices are created on the fly, based on gross margin calculations to ensure each booking is profitable.

“We do not spend any more time manually editing data to produce quotes and bookings. Every booking request/charter is tracked in real time. All our team members can open a booking and see its full history as well as the conversation with our customer. Our team, spread across countries and in different shifts, can see who did what, when, and effortlessly take it from there.”

The automated FL3XX system diminishes repetitive sales and operational tasks, and is claimed to decrease the overall workload by around 50 per cent and eliminate human errors. “Our customers now benefit from a state-of-the-art service in terms of response time, accuracy and overall flight performance.” adds Hatje.

Paolo Sommariva, ceo of FL3XX, says: “A forward-thinking airline like PrivatAir shall reap the full value of our system. With FL3XX, it will shorten its internal processes and enable utlra-fast sales and operations. The management will have one-click, real-time reporting enabling better decision making.

Customers will access online, real-time information concerning their flights.”

PrivatAir has its headquarters in Geneva and operating bases in Frankfurt, Geneva and Brazzaville (Congo). It is a member of AirClub, whose systems can “talk” to any kind of charter/ops system.

How to … … move almost Ornulf Hilarius and Michael Kuhn join forces on aircraft refurbishment.

DC Aviation and OHS set up shop to deliver cabin refurbishments Stuttgart-based operator DC Aviation is branching out into refurbishment and cabin modernisation through an agreement to join forces with OHS Aviation Services.

“In the initial stage we will be opening a cabin shop at DC Aviation and offering our services jointly to external customers as well,” explains Ornulf Hilarius, ceo at Berlin’s OHS, experts in refurbishing and fitting executive jet cabins.

The goal of the partnership is to have interior work carried out to high quality standards directly by an expert on site. DC Aviation expects

this broadening of its portfolio to further extend its position as a leader for quality.

“The cooperation with OHS underlines the high standards of quality that we demand of our executive jets. Moreover, this means we can combine the time for maintenance work ideally with work on the interior and reduce turnaround times. This not only represents an advantage in terms of time and economy for our customers but is also a perfect complement to our portfolio”, says DC Aviation ceo Michael Kuhn.

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Jet Aviation adds to European charter line-up Jet Aviation has added 23 aircraft to its global management fleet to date this year, three of which are available for charter. The additions include seven in Europe, two in the Middle East, two in Africa, four in Asia and eight in the US. Those available for charter include a Falcon 900EX based in Geneva.

“We have expanded our fleet to provide our clients with more options for charter services,” says Claudio Peer, vp of sales for aircraft management and charter in EMEA and Asia.

Ideal for transoceanic and transcontinental trips, the Falcon has a cabin that comfortably seats up to 14 passengers, featuring a phone and fax, AirShow and entertainment systems, and it is equipped with six beds. With a range of 7,800 km it is optimal for trips to New York, Recife, Dakar, Harare, Delhi, Moscow and Irkutsk.

Copious quantities of baggage can be carried aboard the Super King Air 350i.

Michal Dvorak, ABS Jets cfo.

Dvorak brings his finance experience to ABS Jets ABS Jets has appointed Michal Dvorak to the role of chief financial officer. He joins the company from KPMG Czech Republic where he was supervisor of the commercial audit department. During his time there he carried out audits on a number of aviation companies, gaining experience and understanding of what makes a successful aircraft operator.

In his role at ABS Jets, Dvorak will take on responsibilities for many of the company’s financial activities, including audits and financial statements.

Speaking about his appointment, Dvorak says: “This is a great opportunity for me, the chance to work in a company that permits me to work in two fields which are of great interest to me – finance and aviation.

I look forward to the opportunity of gaining new experiences in the aviation sector.”

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The turboprop faithful sing the praises of rugged workhorses everywhere ME & MY AIRCRAFT Twin turboprops The business twin turboprop marketplace is one which Beechcraft has had sown up since business aviation was a boy in 1964, with its ubiquitous King Air line-up.

And with the company’s future now looking brighter than in recent years this dominance is likely to continue.

Its special mission King Air 350ER demonstrator aircraft is in the midst of a worldwide year-long tour of more than 15 countries on six continents, and will fly an estimated 80,000 miles.

“We discovered through a similar tour last year that the best way to demonstrate the performance, versatility and low operating costs of the King Air 350ER is to take the aircraft around the world,” said Dan Keady, Beechcraft senior vp, special missions. “Experiencing the aircraft first hand makes it easy for governments, military and commercial customers to see why the King Air is the ideal aircraft to address the unique challenges of most special mission operations.” The aircraft will be on show at the Paris air show this month and the Dubai Air Show in November.

More than 7,000 King Airs are operated in 127 countries around the world and have surpassed 60 million total flight hours. Around 700 of these ply their trade with EBAN readers around Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Africa.

In terms of business aviation the main competition for the King Air in current production is the Piaggio Avanti, which the Italian manufacturer continues to refine each year.

Most recently Piaggio Aero approved a revised maintenance

Nacho Isla of Flightline.

programme with extended inspection intervals which, together with the cancellation of the previously required daily check and monthly inspection, represents a reduction of up to 18 per cent in the maintenance man-hours for the aircraft.

“The approval of the new maintenance programme has been enabled following an extensive study of reliability data gathered over 800 thousand flight hours, accumulated by the worldwide fleet of P180 aircraft in a variety of mission profiles,” says Paolo Ferreri, vp of worldwide customer support.

“We are consistently seeking ways to provide savings for our aircraft operators around the world and are confident these extended maintenance times will do just that.”

For utility and challenging environments, the Let L410 is still in serial production some 50 years after its original conception. At the end of April certification of the new H80-200 engine and AV 725 propeller used on the L 410 UVP E20 aircraft was finished. The new power plant will start serial production and replace the existing GE M601-E engines and propellers.

The 50th aircraft produced by

Czech manufacturer Aircraft Industries since 2005, when the company was taken over by a new owner and gained its current company name, has been delivered.

More than half of these have gone to the Russian Federation, and this most recent example went to the autonomous Republic of Komi in the north part of the Federation. It is the third aircraft for this customer, and will be used not only for standard regional transport of passengers, but also equipped with a kit for paratroopers and a sanitary kit for a flying ambulance.

For this report we asked our readers with direct experience of twin turboprops to assess the good and bad points according to their own direct personal experience. We included every type of aircraft in the sector, including those no longer produced but still in regular service.

You can load the aircraft with full seats and tanks full Dr Gert Kroll/King Air 300 BEECHCRAFT 1900 On the cusp between business aircraft and commuter airliner, the Beechcraft 1900 is highly popular throughout Africa. There are a dozen or more operators in South Africa, four in Kenya and three in each of Algeria, Angola and Botswana.

Helmuth Rame of AirTraffic in Kenya has experience of the Beech 1900C and D models, and declares himself to be very satisfied with the available support for the aircraft. “We consider Beech support to be the industry’s best,” he says. “We have very few delays or cancellations, and it is very good when flying in and out of runways which are longer than 1,500 metres. It has good range versus

payload. We use it for trips between 600 and 900 nm. It has a cargo pod so it is not necessary to carry all the luggage inside the cabin.”

He does concede that too many spare parts are now ‘special productions’ and therefore difficult to get and with long delivery times. But the worst things, he says, are the missing toilet: “There are few with installed toilets, but this should be a standard add-on from Beechcraft,” and the fact that it cannot be fitted with an auto-pilot.

Otherwise, Rame’s only lament is that the aircraft is no longer in production and therefore very difficult to get hold of – especially the 1900D. He wishes production could be restarted.

BEECHCRAFT KING AIR 200 There are nearly 200 Beech King Air 90 series aircraft in operation around our region, centred on large fleets in France and Germany, and the baby of the range is still available factory new in the guise of the C90GTx. There remain a handful of Beech 100s in service too, but the main workhorse of the King Air line up continues to be the 200 series.

There are no fewer than 500 of these throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The main populations fly from the UK, France and Germany, but there are eight operators of the type in Angola and a dozen in South Africa. The governments of Botswana, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Senegal and Togo are among those putting the King Air 200 to public service.

One respondent to our survey has experience of the King Air 200 in a flight inspection role, and reports that it is a very capable airframe, although the avionics and traffic avoidance in particular are now quite dated and require upgrade to work safely in some areas. He points out that there are plenty of EASA part 145

JUNE 2013 9

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

maintenance organisations in the EMEA region, except for the Middle East which does cause some issues.

“It’s rugged enough for the demanding environment we operate in,” he concludes.

Patrick Margetson-Rushmore of London Executive Aviation agrees that the aircraft is rugged, able to “go places” and has plenty of space. The down-side, he says, is the price, but: “We have been operating King Airs for over 16 years. They are a very competent workhorse.”

Gwyndaf Williams of Haverfordwest Air Charter Services (FlyWales) says the King Air 200 scores highly for reliability, short field performance and endurance, and he is very satisfied with the available maintenance support. As for how to improve it, simply add Garmin avionics, he says.

Lisa Humphries of Capital Air Charter has experience of a fleet of King Air 200s and is equally positive.

“We have found them to be the most cost efficient and adaptable aircraft for our customers,” she says.

Reliability, modest fuel consumption, payload capability and takeoff/landing performance are the highlights for Captain Frank Achner of Star Wings Dortmund. His only wish would be for more speed.

The current production model is the King Air 250, which has composite winglets and propellers which, Beechcraft says, delivers substantial improvements in takeoff performance while actually increasing speed, range and climb.

You get an awful lot of aircraft for your money Emre Dursun/Jetstream 31

SUPER KING AIR 300 The largest current production model King Air is the 350i, also available in an extended range variant.

More than 20 of the hundred-plus 300 series King Airs in operation around our region are this latest model, which has proved very popular in emerging markets. For example, there are almost as many operators of the King Air 300 series in Angola (six) as in Germany (seven). It can be found in numbers in the UK and France, but also in countries around the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Dispatch reliability of around 95 per cent has left Dr Gert Kroll of Mike Fly very satisfied, although he reports that spare parts supply can sometimes be slow and expensive.

The aircraft was purchased factorynew and had the most problems during the first 700 flight hours.

“It is very reliable and easy to fly.

You can load the aircraft with full seats and tanks full,” he says.

Jaroslav Malinsky of VR JET has

Me & My Aircraft throughout 2013 AUGUST Long-range and large jets NOVEMBER Very light jets We are keen to hear your views.

Log in at www.ebanmagazine.com and you will find voting forms for each type in your fleet. It takes moments to complete, and the more replies we receive the better our final reports will be. Your user number and pin is on the back of the mailing sheet included with your magazine.

Make your opinion count!

Alex Gazzé of Kin Avia, seen here on the far left of the group.

mixed feelings about the 350i which was on his fleet until the end of last

year. “The aircraft itself is state-ofthe-art, in respect to the flight crew

and more importantly to the passengers. Some of the features and

equipment which we had on board, you would expect in a mid-size jet upwards, not in a turboprop.

“Eight full leather heated seats with individual controls were superb, and the electric shading system and on board entertainment made travelling a real pleasure.” The problems, he says, were with the limited baggage space with a full load and, more importantly, with the cabin heating system, which caused considerable down-time.

Hans-Rudolf Woehrl of Intro Verwaltungs and Eric Rechtsteiner of Air Independence both declare themselves satisfied with every aspect of their King Air 350s.

Christopher Mace of SaxonAir Charter says: “The King Air series of aircraft are very reliable and there are several key maintenance companies with good capability available in the UK. However, the phase inspection programme does mean inspections are due every 200 hours, which are considerably Continued on next page

10 JUNE 2013

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

Continued from previous page

original aircraft have been solved.

“All in all, it is a good all-round aircraft. Our pilots like it and it is built very solidly which makes it very durable and a clear choice when operating in harsher climates. A roomy cabin and cockpit is a rarity in its class and makes it a favourite for passengers and crew alike,” Dursan concludes.

more frequent than the more modern jet aircraft manufacturers.

“The King Air has always been a proven workhorse, the PT6 engines are very reliable and the airframe built well. The 350 has a superb payload/range profile, with plenty of room for baggage – it just does the job well. Of course turboprops are let down by speed, but gain in runway performance and efficiency.

“We flew eight people with golf clubs and bags from Carlisle to Palma for a weekend and a family of nine from Edinburgh to Cannes. The aircraft is very adaptable.”

He does, however, point out that the King Air 350 is “Performance A” and therefore does not enjoy the short runway benefits to the extent that the 200 series does.

The wing lockers on the 350 allow for a lot more baggage, skis and golf clubs to be carried alongside the large rear baggage area, he adds.

LET 410UVP

CESSNA 425 Cessna’s twin turboprops live on around our region, in the form of about twenty 425 Conquest Is and a dozen 441 Conquest IIs. The types are popular in Namibia, but most prevalent in Germany.

One EBAN reader with experience of the Conquest I with 136A turbines responded to our survey in glowing terms: “It can fly in and out of small airfields and is fast. More practical than the small jets but with jet speeds.

It is quiet to operate and very comfortable for passengers. The worst thing is the luggage capacity.”

The Redstar team pose with its Jetstream just before it flew to Nevsehir for a mission.

DORNIER DO228 The majority of the world fleet of Dornier 228s have not flown far from the nest, and are in operation in their native country, Germany. There is a sprinkling of other operators around Europe, in Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the UK. In Kenya, AirTraffic has a fleet of three, in 19 passenger configuration and offering the largest cargo capacity in its fleet. Helmuth Rame praises the “fantastic” reliability of the aircraft, but has reservations when it comes to maintenance support: “RUAG do not provide spare parts at a reasonable price compared to the world market prices. Many parts are produced in the US where they often can be obtained for less than half the price. All original Dornier parts produced in Europe are nearly impossible to buy at all.”

He finds that the Do228 covers the whole spectrum of operations in Africa. “No other aircraft type has this flexibility of range, runway lengths and number of passengers,” he adds.

EMBRAER EMB-120 The Embraer Brasilia still enjoys considerable popularity in France, with no fewer than five different operators there, mainly on regional airline services. There are also two

The Let 410 is well suited to harsh environments.

operators in Moldova.

Meanwhile in Spain, EBAN reader Nacho Isla of Flightline responded to our survey to express his satisfaction with the aircraft. “We do our own maintenance and we offer maintenance to third parties,” he says, “and find that it is the best and most reliable aircraft for 30 seats and the best commuter machine.”

have at the moment a great base engineering team paired with a reliable Part 145 organisation.

However, due to the relative rarity of the aircraft, spares are not always readily available.

“Apart from a few minor issues, our reliability with the type has been acceptable. So long as the aircraft is operated within its optimum range, it is guaranteed that it will be the most

competitive in its class. However, when stretched to long range it will suffer when compared against the mid-range jet aircraft.

“These aircraft are very undervalued and you get an awful lot of aircraft for your money. The cabin is one of the largest and most spacious in its class, with ample headroom even when standing. When used in the medevac/casevac role, the cabin is even more roomy allowing for medical crew to work with considerable ease,” he says.

Reduced efficiency on long-range missions, and sub-standard STOL performance, are issues for Redstar, but in general Dursan is happy with the aircraft: “An upgraded avionics package is desirable, but not needed on the late model 32s. The Super 31/3200 model has more powerful engines and many issues with the

EBAN’s readers are responsible for over 170 Let 410 aircraft of various models. The type has made very few inroads into western European fleets, but is prolific in eastern Europe, the Ukraine and throughout Africa – where its rugged nature is much appreciated.

It is a niche aircraft able to comfortably transport 18 passengers in a roomy cabin and from short runways, says one respondent to our survey, adding that time-consuming airframe inspections and the lack of a transparent pricing policy for both aircraft and parts are problems.

The largest single fleet of Let 410 aircraft is in the hands of Air-Tec, whose Jan Rehousek is an expert on the type: “The L410 UVP does not meet western certifications and only a few remain in operation. The L410 UVP-E20 is available as new production and a new L410 NG is being developed.

“It is robust, reliable, very well adapted for remote operations and especially on unpaved runways.”

Air-Tec recently signed an agreement with GE Aviation to develop an engine upgrade for the L410 aircraft. Under the programme, Air-Tec will replace the current M601 engine that powers its aircaft with GE’s new H75 engine.

“Air-Tec is the largest M601 operator and has a deep understanding of the engine and aircraft,” says Jim Stoker, president and managing executive of GE Aviation Czech. “The engine upgrade to the new H75 engine will enhance the performance of the L410 aircraft and bring many benefits to customers."

“We see great opportunities with the H75-powered L410 aircraft in our own fleet as well as aircraft operating in the African and Latin American regions, and we look forward to developing this new engine upgrade programme,” adds Rehousek.

Customers can upgrade from a

JETSTREAM 31/41 A direct competitor to the Brasilia, albeit rather more numerous, is the Jetstream 31 and 41 series. These are used by regional airlines, business operators and private owners in the UK and Scandinavia mainly, but also throughout Europe and Africa.

Proflight Zambia and NRH in South Africa have substantial fleets.

Turkey boasts one operator, Redstar Aviation, and Emre Dursan reports that its Super 31 model is used in medevac and passenger roles. “We

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Bristow approaches thirty years of specialist service and improvements to King Airs Paul Bristow, engineering director of Gama Support Services, has been around King Airs since way back in the 1980s, when he and a colleague ran Plymouth Executive Aviation, which at the time was an authorised Beechcraft service centre in the west of the UK. In 1984, Gama ceo Marwen Khalek flew into Plymouth with his King Air and a second long-standing relationship was born, which led to an invitation to join the Gama Group in 2000, the company becoming Gama Support Services in 2002.

Bringing the story up to date, GSS is now located within Gama’s Farnborough head offices but with a satellite base at Fairoaks and also now at Glasgow.

The company specialises in the King Air and Baron range and the acquired expertise over the years had led to the company being able to make significant improvements to the aircraft.

For example, GSS developed a modification for the PT6A engine installation on both the King Air 200 and 300 series aircraft which has introduced a drain tube for the exhaust duct. This became necessary after an engine re-design resulted in the potential for water to remain in the duct after compressor washing, with the very real possibility of front reduction gearbox casing corrosion if the existing drain plug is not removed.

A compressor wash used to take half an hour but following engine modification was now averaging three hours due to having to remove the cowlings to gain access to remove the exhaust gas drain plug.

The GSS solution added a drain tube which eliminated the need to remove the cowlings during engine wash, saving time, money and reducing wear and tear.

Bristow suggests that the shared vision that he enjoys with Marwen

Khalek has been key to GSS’s success, as has the engineering division's role in looking after Gama’s own King Air fleet.

Most recently, the Scottish Air Ambulance contract has created a need for 24-hour call-out and a more robust AOG facility, which then becomes available to other King Air operators.

Looking forward, Bristow says there has been a huge resurgence in special missions and is enthusiastic about the new look Beechcraft organisation – which has recently led to GSS once again becoming an authorised Beechcraft service centre for King Air, Baron and Bonanza aircraft.

And is there anything else that the King Air expert still wants to do?

Yes, he says he'd like to undertake a centre section change on a King Air. Although, as this is such a major job, he doesn't think it is going to happen soon.

JUNE 2013 11

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

M601 engine to the H75 without any major modifications to the aircraft.

The engine upgrade programme will provide increased temperature margin, improved fuel efficiency and extended time between overhaul.

The H75, which GE Aviation launched last year, is rated at 750 shaft horsepower for takeoff and maximum continuous operation and is aimed at the agricultural, commuter, utility and business turboprop aircraft segments. EASA certified the H75 engine last year with the FAA type certification anticipated this year.

Air-Tec is the largest L410 fleet operator in Africa. As well as being an aircraft operator, it also sells and leases L410/420 aircraft for regional airlines, aid agencies and NGOs, oil exploration companies and clients requiring smaller aircraft. Based in Port-Louis, Mauritius, Air-Tec has branches in France, the Czech Republic and South Africa.

Also based in Africa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is Alex Gazzé of Kin Avia.

“We are in contact with Let Aircraft Industries and General Electric for the engines. We have three Ukrainian engineers with us here in Kinshasa,” he says.

“We are very satisfied with dispatch reliability. It has been six years since we started operating our five Let 410 UVP-E and, except for minor incidents, we have had almost no delays due to technical problems.

“I believe that the Let 410 UVP-E is the right aircraft to operate in such an environment as the DR of Congo, with runway and airstrips not always in very good condition. The Let 410 UVP-E shows its strength, manoeuvrability and ease of operation. There is nothing too complicated with the systems, no autopilot, no pressurisation, and it is easy to maintain. The operating cost is acceptable for the kind of operation we do. Two regular flights per day and some charter flights.

“The best things about it are the 18 seat capacity, ability to land on airstrips with grass runways, and strong landing gear. It is perfect to operate in Africa.

“The worst is its speed, at 165 kts sometimes it’s difficult to compete with a King Air going to the same airport on charter flight,” he says.

Being based in a hot location means that air conditioning has considerable appeal as a possible upgrade, but this is balanced against the need to keep systems simple to ensure reliability. Kin Avia operates regular services not exceeding one hour 15 minutes flight time, and for charter flights can cover all of the Congo.

his earlier variant.

“It is the fastest in its class, and an ideal cargo aircraft,” says Sintakis, who also recognises one problem with the aircraft in terms of fuel leaks.

differential pressure, which is especially important for patients on medevac missions.

Short maintenance intervals, the landing gear and insufficiently robust door seals came in for criticism.

“Piaggio Aero Industries is trying to introduce some innovations; a better maintenance schedule plan (see earlier in this report), availability of spare parts and maintenance, technical documentation and some modifications,” says our correspondent. “These steps are in the right direction. Only, as an operator, we need them quicker.”

According to EBAN’s reader data only three Shorts Skyvans remain in service in Europe; one in Luxembourg and two in Austria.

Thomas Lewetz of Pink Aviation Services replied to our survey to praise his for its operating costs, payload and rear ramp. His only criticism – its “apperance like a box.”

PIPER PA-31T

SHORTS SD3-60

Piper last produced a twin turbinepowered aircraft some 20 years ago in 1993, but the PA-31T Cheyenne I/II and PA-42 Cheyenne III/IV remain in widespread use today. There are good numbers in Germany, France and Switzerland, while individual examples have found homes in Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Namibia.

The fact that it is an ageing type inevitably means that the cost of

Shorts’ rather larger and more recent model, the SD3-60 can still be found in Germany, the UK, South Africa and Denmark.

One reader described the SD3-60 as a robust, versatile aircraft which suffers from having an infinite list of life-limited components.

No autopilot, no pressurisation, easy to maintain Alex Gazzé/Let 410

unscheduled maintenance is increasing, says Michael Fuchs.

However, he remains very satisfied with his Cheyenne II which is “very cheap to operate and capable for short runways.”

Other correspondents are concerned about the ongoing availability of spare parts.

METRO/MERLIN The Fairchild Swearingen Merlin/ Metro series is in widespread use around Europe, and enjoys particular popularity in Spain.

Nacho Isla of Flightline reflects on his company’s fleet of five Metros: “There is not another type of aircraft which can do the same for the same money and with the same service.”

Bruno Sorensen of North Flying cannot find fault with the SA227D Metro 23, the model which Milt Sintakis of SwiftAir Helias believes would be the ideal upgrade path from

SHORTS SC7 SKYVAN

TWIN COMMANDER There is a good scattering of turbinepowered Twin Commanders around Europe, including about ten in the UK. The type is much more prolific in the US, where there is an active community of owners and operators.

A recent Twin Commander University gathering in Arizona gave an award to Propulsion International for its Group Maintenance Plan for the Honeywell TPE-331 engine series.

Twin Commander president Matt Isley says: “The Twin Commander is unique in that it has such a wide range of mission capabilities. We are looking for ways to help our diverse owner group control costs while ensuring the safety and reliability of these great aircraft.

“The Propulsion International GMP is a great option for Commander operators seeking to reduce their engine maintenance costs and protect themselves from unexpected maintenance expenses.”

Entering its third decade, the Twin Commander University is hosted every other year by Twin Commander Aircraft. The event brings together owners, operators, service centres, manufacturers and ancillary service providers to exchange ideas and insights into improving the owner/operator experience. ■

P180 AVANTI The number of Piaggio Avantis in service in the EMEA region is fast approaching 100 – which is testament to the aircraft’s appeal, given the bankruptcy of the original Piaggio manufacturing company and the unconventional design of the Avanti itself.

The Italian government has been helpful in ordering the aircraft for its forestry department, but there are also corporate examples in service all over Europe as well as in Jordan, Kuwait and the UAE. One EBAN reader and Avanti owner reports that the cabin is roomy and that the cabin has good

AIRCRAFT NEWS...

The PC-24 will be versatile enough for diverse and remote operations.

Pilatus reveals the ‘versatile’ PC-24 Pilatus Aircraft were at the EBACE show to reveal the much awaited PC24, dubbed the world’s first ‘super versatile jet’. It will have the ability to use very short runways, paved or unpaved, and a cargo door as standard.

It also boasts a spacious cabin which can be configured to individual requirements. Built in response to PC-12 operators’ requests for a similarly rugged aircraft with greater speed and range, the PC-24 cabin interior will be available in an executive layout with 6-8 passenger seats, a commuter setup with room for up to 10 passengers, or even combiversions with ample space for passengers and cargo, as well as special installations for emergency medical flights. The prototype roll-out is scheduled for the third quarter of 2014, and maiden flight towards the end of that year. Certification is planned for early 2017 and the first aircraft will be delivered immediately thereafter. The list price (price basis 2017) is around USD 8.9 million.

Happy Learjet 75 debuts Happy Design Studio provided the livery for the first appearance of the Learjet 75, at the EBACE show in Geneva. The aircraft features the Bombardier Vision Flight Deck with an interior influenced by its bigger stablemate, the Learjet 85. It is capable of flying more than 2,000 nm between Geneva and Cairo non-stop.

Beechcraft appoints Okoli in sub-Saharan Africa Beechcraft has appointed Kingsley Okoli as regional sales director for Beechcraft products in subSaharan Africa, based in Nigeria.

Okoli was an F-16 crew chief and later a fighter squadron logistics readiness officer for the US Air Force.

Eurocopter brings elegance to the EC175 Eurocopter has unveiled its EC175 helicopter in its executive and vip versions created by Peder Eidsgaard of Pegasus Design, whose reputation results from his work on business jets and super yachts. The EC175 vip is offered in three different styles, all accommodating six to eight passengers.

One is inspired by modern sport cars, another by French flair, and the third is more classical, inspired by the grand villas of Europe.

400XTi auto-throttle saves fuel Nextant has launched its latest remanufactured aircraft model, the 400XTi, which will continue to retail at $4.95 million, with a new auto-throttle to save fuel and reduce pilot workload.

Jet Aviation Geneva is to provide maintenance services for Nextant aircraft across Europe.

Fifth HondaJet flies

Extended inspection intervals have been welcomed by Avanti owners.

The fifth FAA conforming HondaJet, equipped with a production interior matching the

final customer aircraft, has successfully completed its first flight. The HondaJet is priced at $4.5 million.

TBM owners gather in Mallorca The TBM Owners and Pilots Association brought together an audience of 76 participants at Mallorca, Spain, for its European chapter’s annual convention in May. A total of 23 TBM aircraft touched down at Son Bonet and Palma airports, carrying participants from Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

Piper adds G1000 to Seneca V Piper has received type certificate approval from the FAA to incorporate the Garmin G1000 avionics suite into new twinengine Seneca V aircraft models for delivery beginning this year.

The most recent software supports a three display suite as standard and displays weather including METARs, TAFs and winds aloft, with an optional GSR 56 transceiver. Radar and satellite imagery are also available for western Europe.

Legacy 500 lands in Europe Embraer debuted the midsize Legacy 500 jet prototype at the EBACE show in Geneva. Embraer says that the Legacy 500 is the first midsize jet with a six foot high stand-up cabin and a wet galley.

The company expects that, along with the 450, it will outsell all its other business jet designs.

Citation M2 has wings The first production Citation M2 has reached the milestone of wing and fuselage mating. Certification is expected in the second half of 2013.

12 JUNE 2013

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

NORWAY REGIONAL REVIEW covered air law and aviation conventions, contracting and legal pitfalls, and bribery and corruption law. Simon Amos, from ASB Law, explained that one person’s ‘facilitation payment’ can be another person’s ‘bribe’, and that different countries’ enforcement authorities can regard the same actions quite differently.

Chapman Freeborn’s Alex Berry.

Chapman Freeborn embarks on global broker initiative Chapman Freeborn is launching an initiative to help operators and fellow charter brokers tap into its local knowledge and expertise worldwide, whenever they find themselves entering a territory that is unfamiliar, challenging, or too restrictive financially.

Partners will be contractually protected by a non-compete clause. Alex Berry, group marketing and sales director (pictured), says: “We are not going to compete with local brokers in local markets for the sake of a couple of hundred dollars, yet this is quite commonplace in the wider industry.”

Chapman Freeborn observes that there are now thousands of charter brokers, and that number is growing continually. An increasing number are single or two person operations with limited overheads, often with niche expertise. “It is important in an industry where there is no regulation, that these small players have somewhere reputable to turn to for advice,” says Berry.

PrivateFly.com launches photo competition Private aviation charter network PrivateFly.com has launched its Private Jet Photography Awards 2013. The contest will be judged by an expert panel, in five categories.

Entries are invited from both amateur and professional photographers.

The overall winner will receive a cash prize of £1,000, with a prize of £250 awarded to the winner in each category.

ACI partners with emergency evacuation experts Air Charter International has partnered with the UAEheadquartered risk assessment company Special Security Defence Services to become its exclusive aviation provider for air evacuation services.

ACI reports an increasing number of unusual, risk associated or dangerous cargo charters. In early April it assisted the rescue team of a damaged vessel, containing a large amount of steel, that was sinking off the coast of Oman. The situation required a low level aerial survey to establish the next operational steps and ACI sourced a Hawker 800 with a crew that were able to fly at very low altitude to establish the extent of damage. Special permits were needed from the Oman Civil Aviation authority to approve the low altitude survey.

Oryx shows brokers the London sights Oryx Jet recently held a charter broker open day at Rizon Jet’s facilities at Biggin Hill airport. A draw took place for the chance to see London from the air on one of AV8 Oryx Helicopters’ sightseeing flights.

In May, the four prize winners took to the skies over London from AV8’s base at Rochester Airport on a one-hour flight aboard a Eurocopter EC120. Flying over the Queen Elizabeth Bridge at Dartford, the flight followed the River Thames, with views of the O2 Arena, Greenwich and Canary Wharf, St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster and the London Eye, and London’s newest skyscraper The Shard.

Scandinavia’s challenging geography and climate keep charter operators busy Oil reserves and a resulting large economic surplus have, over the years, provided Norway with a relatively benign and stable economic outlook. Characterised by high wages and high prices, the country is not a member of the EU but still has a strong focus on international trade.

Business aviation in Norway by the numbers 55 business aviation airports Major business aviation airports* 1. Oslo Gardermoen 2. Stavanger Sola 3. Sandefjord Torp 4. Bergen Flesland 5. Bodo

ENGM ENZV ENTO ENBR ENBO

OSL SVG TRF BGO BOOI

* ranked by the number of handler, charter, maintenance, sales and training organisations based at each.

33 business charter operators

Training day addresses vital charter issues The latest BACA/BBGA joint training day in April covered a variety of topics including illegal chartering, bribery, Air Passenger Duty, aviation law and online booking.

Marc Bailey, chief executive of BBGA, admitted that ‘illegal charters’, which may cost the industry £2 billion a year, can be difficult to define but explained that there is now an industry working party actively pursuing the issue with the CAA. Three speakers from ASB Law

Blom ASA manager of flight operations Jahn Morten Pettersen demonstrates the hands-on approach essential for successful smaller operators.

Leading fixed-wing charter operators** 1. Lufttransport 2. Airwing 3. Hesnes Air 4. BenAir

Leading helicopter charter operators**

Sightseeing tour winners Kristina Bunce, charter manager with 365 Aviation, Steve Finch, director operator relationships with Fly Victor, PrivateFly’s Alex Nott, and Sophie (representing partner Michael Cooper, marketing partnerships with Chapman Freeborn).

w w w. c h a r t e r b r o k e r. a e r o

1. Airlift 2. Helitrans 3. Lufttransport 4. HeliScan 5. Fjellfly ** ranked by number of aircraft for charter

13

business aircraft maintenance organisations

Leading maintenance companies*** 1. Airlift 2. BenAir

Leading TRTO training companies*** 1. Airlift 2. Lufttransport 3. European Helicopter Center *** ranked by number of aircraft types covered

236 business aircraft on LN the Norwegian register Data extracted from the Handbook of Business Aviation, and the EBAN reader roster.

During recent years we have laserscanned the entire country of Sweden Norway has never had a large business jet fleet. When EBAN first focused here in 1994 there were just seven, and the register today still boasts only 11. However, when it comes to utility applications for turboprops and helicopters Norway leads the world. The nation bristles with King Airs of all varieties, Cessna Caravans and a host of diverse rotary equipment from Ecureuil up to Sikorsky S-92.

A number of the business operators in Norway have been around for many years, and Bergen Air Transport is a good example. It is celebrating 15 years of operations and reports that its flight hours during the past few years have been steadily increasing following a few years of decline caused by reduced access to assignments.

The company has a pair of King Airs, but branched out into jet operations when it picked up a Citation CJ2+ at the Cessna factory in Wichita in June 2010. “The CJ2+ is a pristine aircraft and performs outstandingly – better than the manufacturer’s book numbers,” says Geir Hellsten accountable manager and manager of flight operations.

It is the Citation which is leading the increase in flight hours, and so the company is focusing on developing its jet operations. “Last summer we sold our King Air 350 and flew it from Bergen to Singapore, a great trip for the King Air 350,” adds Hellsten.

This leaves two King Airs on the fleet: “Our Beech 200s are configured as commuter aircraft capable of carrying 12 passengers and two pilots. Both are equipped with the cargo pod and are capable of carrying the luggage separated from the cabin, which makes them also approved for the scheduled flights which we run daily between Bergen and the Blues City, Notodden.”

Bergen Air Transport is open for all types of aerial business; passenger,

freight, air ambulance/medevac, survey and surveillance, aerial works, sightseeing and leisure, and hazardous freight.

Hellsten reports that the company is relatively small, having 10 employees. “Every one of these is an important part of our organisation and daily tasks. However, our manager of ground operations Karin Husa deserves a special mention based on the fact that she runs the company on a daily basis in a soft and a very professional way since joining the business in January 2012.”

Looking to the future, Bergen Air Transport is focusing on upcoming regulation changes and has already prepared for the new requirements through continuous work and gradual implementation during the last three years. It will fully integrate its Safety Management System during the coming year.

Hesnes Air has been able to expand its jet repertoire as a result of winning a major public health contract. “Since April 2012 we have had a contract for flying all donor teams for Oslo Universitetssykehus, the largest donor hospital in Europe,” reports Benedicte Heyerdahl, manager of marketing and operations for the company. “In order to perform these flights we acquired our second Citation Encore 560 and, of course, employed more pilots.

“This second Encore is stationed at Gardermoen and is ready to fly at short notice day and night. Both the aircraft and the pilots are performing excellently.”

In addition to this contract, Hesnes Air is operating all kinds of charter flights across Europe. It says that the market has been a bit slow during the early months of 2013, but that it believes business will pick up during the rest of the year.

“With our King Air B200 we also do some cargo flights, especially for the oil and gas industry in Norway and the UK,” says Heyerdahl. “This month we signed a contract with one of Norway’s largest power line companies to do maintenance on its power lines with our helicopter, in co-operation with Pegasus Helicopter. For our inland business this means a great deal.”

Hesnes Air has three bases, at

JUNE 2013 13

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

Gardermoen, Moss Rygge and Torp, and flies passenger, freight, air ambulance/medevac, photography/ film, aerial works and sightseeing/ leisure services.

“In Hesnes Air we do believe the most important members of our team are our pilots. They are in close contact with our customers and it is imperative that they practise a high degree of service, in addition to flight safety, which of course is the most important factor.

“Our captains and co-pilots are highly trained and motivated to perform excellently on every flight, and we do get positive feedback from customers that they appreciate the effort and extra service they provide,” concludes Heyerdahl.

Jahn Morten Pettersen is settling in as manager of flight operations and chief pilot at Blom ASA, following the retirement of Jon Wold during last year.

The specialist company’s services are always in demand. “We are currently in the last phase finishing off two large LIDAR projects in Sweden and Finland,” says Pettersen.

“During recent years we have laserscanned the entire country of Sweden for the Swedish Land Survey, which is used in flood management and infrastructure planning among other things. The result will give Swedish authorities a complete terrain model

Blom ASA’s assignments tend to be weather-dependent but flying hours have remained stable over recent years.

of the entire country.

“We are also involved in mapping for forestry, which is a developing and interesting market with many opportunities.”

Pettersen adds: “We bought a Piper Navajo in 2012. This aircraft was previously registered in Finland, but is now one of five Navajos serving Blom out from Rakkestad airport in Norway. Needless to say, all our aircraft spend a lot of time stationed at other airports across the Nordic countries and northern Europe.

The nature of the mapping industry is that we have to fly where modern 3D maps and new accurate geographical Information is needed.

The aircraft are often stationed for

weeks or months at different airports, and only return to our home base for regular maintenance.”

Recently, Blom found itself mapping flood damage for the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate. The project was flown as close to highest water level as possible, both to visualise water standings and different property and environmental damage. “It’s valuable for the government to have high resolution, geo-referred images in processing this event and also for future risk planning,” says Pettersen.

Due to the nature of its operations, Blom is rather dependent on good weather to complete its projects. This is a challenge with short and rainy

summers quite common throughout its sphere of operations. But, it says, the actual number of flying hours per aircraft has been quite stable over recent years: “We are very proud to see that our efficiency and production have improved considerably in the limited weather windows and optimal flight conditions we have seen lately. Some of the improvement is due to the technological development and more high-tech and proven technology, but a lot of the improvement is also directly related to optimisation of all our internal workflows and procedures. We believe this trend will continue and as climate change continues to represent such a challenge, our clients need to know that we are a reliable and efficient producer that gets the job done!”

Pettersen hesitates to nominate any one member of the Blom crew who plays an especially crucial role, but reports that the efforts of ground operations manager Kyrre Johansen are very valuable. “He works long days, especially throughout the mapping season, working with our flight crews to optimise our daily data capture. He follows up each aircraft, flight crews, projects, airports and flight permits. Needless to say, he has good colleagues and staff under his management to help him perform so well.’ ■

NORWAY REGIONAL REVIEW

Comprehensive data for Norway online free-of-charge The 2013/14 Handbook of Business Aviation, Europe, Russia, Middle East and Africa Edition, was published in May, and gives details of many more Norwegian charter operators. It also lists business aviation facilities and services including airports, FBOs and maintenance centres.

The details can be accessed online through a search of aircraft operated or the airport bases. For more information please visit www.handbook.aero

TJS embarks on extensive expansion of the fleet Tyrolean Jet Services has announced another milestone in the company’s growth with the addition of two Airbus ACJ319s and a Gulfstream G550 for commercial operation. According to ceo Martin Lener, this is the most extensive expansion since the company’s establishment in 1978. “This remarkable fleet enlargement in the vvip segment will encourage our continued business development, even in potentially unstable economic times,” he says.

“This is another milestone in our organic and sustainable growth as Austria’s longest established business operator.”

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PrivateFly ceo Adam Twidell, BGAD’s Mark Ranger and Cambridge Airport business development manager Jon Harper warm up for the bowling challenge.

®

www.ASO.com

Cambridge show lays down the challenge to bowling charter professionals UK and European business aviation charter operators are invited to fly in to BGAD13 and take part in the PrivateFly BGAD Bowling Challenge.

The challenge, organised by online private charter network PrivateFly, will take place at the UK Business and General Aviation Day, September 17th at Cambridge Airport. It pits teams against each other in a very British version of ten pin bowling.

PrivateFly ceo Adam Twidell says: “This is a great opportunity to reward your team by taking them to Cambridge for the day – and what better way to increase your profile with brokers than to show them round your aircraft in person? The bowling challenge will be a bit of competitive fun and a great way to network with others in the industry.”

Aircraft operators are encouraged to fly their aircraft into Cambridge, where they will be parked up on the static aircraft display, to be viewed by

charter brokers and industry professionals who attend BGAD in their hundreds.

Aircraft carrying teams committed to fly in and take part in the bowling challenge will not pay any landing or handling fees during their stay. Or if you want to just visit and not show your aircraft, you will benefit from a 50 per cent reduction on standard fees at Cambridge Airport.

New European focus For the first time it will be possible for visitors to BGAD13 to fly in directly to Cambridge using Darwin Airline’s direct codeshare flights from Paris, Amsterdam, Milan and Geneva, which commence in September.

David Surley, head of business and route development at Cambridge Airport, told EBAN: “Cambridge is the UK's fastest growing city and leading the way at an international level in

fields such as bio-tech, life sciences and research, attracting companies like AstraZeneca to locate their world headquarters here.

“The people and businesses of our region will benefit greatly from the daily connections to Amsterdam and Paris CDG, which are major international hubs connecting the SkyTeam cluster led by Air France and KLM, but also from three weekly services to Geneva, Darwin Airline’s own operational hub, as well as Milan Malpensa. It is important to note that all flights will be codeshared with the Italian flag carrier Alitalia. Collectively, with at least 50 weekly flights to and from Europe, this brings exceptional connectivity to Cambridge – one of Britain’s most iconic cities as well as one of its most successful economic centres.”

Full details on BGAD13, plus the latest exhibitors and news, are posted on the web site at www.bgad.aero

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EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

14 JUNE 2013

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