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ISSUE 242 NOVEMBER 2013

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TURKEYREGIONALREVIEW

Pages 8-12

ME & MY AIRCRAFTVery light jets

Irish headquartered Starlite Aviationrecently added a BK-117 helicopter to itsfleet, which is being used on contractwith the European Union TrainingMission (EUTM) in Mali. The operatortook delivery of the aircraft in Germanyand the Starlite crew of chief pilotMonster Wilkins, Steve Lodge and HarryRice were given the task of transportingit to Mali.

Wilkins reports on the ferry flight:“The job was to fetch the company’s BK-117 helicopter in Baden-Baden,Germany, and ferry it to Bamako in Malifor use as a HEMS aircraft for the EUTM.This was not exactly a hardship!”

The aircraft had to be de-registeredfrom Germany and put onto a SouthAfrican registration. Upon completion,and once the insurance was in place,Wilkins flew a few circuits at Baden-Baden to familiarise himself with the aircraft.

He says of the 117: “This is a spiritedtwin-engine machine with plenty ofperformance. Her only downfall is shortrange, so the length of ferry flight legshad to be worked out rather carefully.”

After two weeks in Baden-Baden thecrew was ready. Lodge received his typerating and they set off. Lyon, Franceprovided the first refuelling stop, beforeanother stop at Beziers and then a

crossing into Spain’s Costa Brava. FromValencia and Almeria the team thenheaded to Morocco and on toCasablanca. The route also took inSenegal before making it to Mali, with3,000 nautical miles travelled in five daysand 29 hours of flying.

Upon arrival, the crew joined up withthe Starlite team working on contract forEUTM in Mali. Two more pilots receivedtype ratings on the BK-117 and routechecks were carried out, along with acheck ride for a co-pilot on the Puma.

Starlite deploys two HEMShelicopters for EUTM in Mali, andWilkins describes a recent flight whichoccurred during the crew’s time inBamako: “Our Puma 330J was tasked to pick up a motorcyclist who had fallen off his bike with no helmet and was in a poor way. We picked him up at a level field 2 hospital on thebanks of the Niger River at Koulikoro andsuccessfully transported him in thespecially equipped HEMS aircraft.

“It was a fitting end to our journey todeliver an additional HEMS helicopterto Mali.”

Lufttransportextends

all-weathercapability tothe Arctic

Norwegian operator LufttransportAS will be able to perform all-weather search and rescue missionsin the Arctic, after awarding Heli-One a contract to upgrade andmodify two Eurocopter AS332L1s.As a result, from 2014, Lufttransportsays it will be responsible foroperating the most northernAWSAR operation in the world,based in Svalbard, Norway.

The conditions at 78 degreesnorth are extreme, with round-the-clock winter darkness, and therewill be a dependence upon thisservice in what is a large operatingarea. The all-weather capability ofthe AS332L1 aircraft is said to be acritical element to mission success.

Hans Arne Jensen, director ofbusiness development forLufttransport, cited Heli-One’sengineering prowess and SARexpertise as key elements of thewinning bid for the contract: “Thetwo AS332L1s are undergoing anessential modification programmein order to comply with ourrequirements, and Heli-Oneengineering has provided us withaccess to solutions derived fromtheir unique knowledge inmodification of helicopters used forSAR operations to the mostdangerous and challenging areas onearth,” he says.

The modified aircraft arescheduled to begin operations inthe spring of 2014 from Svalbard,which is midway between mainlandNorway and the North Pole.

The Heli-One upgrades includeEuroNav moving map systems,forward-looking infrared (FLIR)camera systems, automaticidentification system (AIS)transponders and Goodrich dualhoists, along with more than adozen other modifications.

Jensen explains the importanceof investing in not one but twoSuper Pumas: “Having two identicalhelicopters will allow forcomprehensive training, redun-dancy and reassurance to thedecision makers prior to and duringmissions.

“We anticipate over 70 SARmissions a year. Our biggestchallenge remains one of humannature: teamwork. We are workinghard on ensuring that all personnelact together, learning fromexperience to help developeverything, right up to those whodeploy on land via snow scooter.”

Monster Wilkins was the chief pilot forStarlite’s Mali mission and relished thechallenge. He says that the BK-117 deliversplenty of performance, despite short range.

Austrian operator IJM has added another Falcon 900 to its‘large and homogenous’ Falcon fleet, along with a Learjet40XR. Md Robert Schmölzer (left) feels this has been amemorable year for the Vienna-based company while ceoFelix Feller, also pictured, praises his ‘motivated’ staff forsuccessfully integrating the aircraft. For the full story see page 7.

IJM expansionis ongoing asFalcon roster

grows

Spirited BK-117 makes the trekto Mali for medical missions

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NOVEMBER 2013 3EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

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Qatar Executive crew members with a company Global 5000 in Abu Dhabi.

Qatar Executive has taken delivery ofa Global 5000 Vision in response towhat it describes as a continuousdemand for luxury travel in theMiddle East.

The addition expands theoperator’s owned Bombardier fleet toseven jets: three Global 5000s, threeChallenger 605s and one Global XRS.

Ceo Akbar Al Baker said: “Our newGlobal 5000 Vision perfectly matches

the requirements of the globaltravelling elite, who are looking formaximum travel flexibility andrefined tailor-made service. With itsextended range, the jet delivers ourcustomers to their final destinationfaster than any other aircraft in thisclass while they enjoy the perks whichcome with travelling on a state-of-the-art executive jet.”

Aircraft features include a two-

cabin configuration with a separategalley, allowing confidentiality anddiscreet service. Up to 13 passengerscan be carried, with fully flat bedsavailable for each.

While the forward cabin allowssufficient space for up to eightpassengers, with a four-placeconference table, the rear cabin hastwo single seats, a private aft lavatoryand a three-person divan that can be

transformed into a double bed.The entertainment and comm-

unications system onboard is said to be particularly impressive,including iPods at every seat tocontrol cabin features such ascooling, mood lighting and soundsystem, two large HD screens, Blu-ray disk system, satellitetelephone, printer capabilities andfast airborne internet.

Qatar offers discreet comfort aboard third 5000

Publisher and editor: .......... David Wright

Reporter: .............................. Tom Ryder

Designer: .............................. Chris Carr

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Argus gold rating gives Elite Jetstamp of approval for safety

Elite Jet, which is operated byJohannesburg-based MedairCharter, has achieved a gold ratingfrom Argus. It says it is one of onlytwo companies in Africa to qualifyfor the gold-level accreditation.“This speaks volumes about theimportance of safety for ourcompany in general and, morespecifically, the ways in which our

pilots take care of their passengerson every flight,” says sales andmarketing manager Greg Ermes.

Elite Jet has been built on thecombined knowledge andexperience of the directors ofMedair Charter, which operates anair ambulance service and startedElite Jet to offer vip charterservices in 2005.

Private Sky has acquired a newaircraft type for its fleet, a Global6000. Having been delivered in lateSeptember to the operator’s Shannonfacility, the aircraft will be based atVnukovo airport, Moscow.

Accountable manager Ray Millshighlights the difficulty of operatingfrom Shannon and explains that themove to Russia was far more viable:“We used to have aircraft based (inShannon) but due to the downturn welocate primarily in London andMoscow, because that’s where thebusiness is. I’d love to have an aircraftbased here but the way things are atthe moment, business isn’t comingout of Ireland. I hope it will return.”

Initial handling for the delivery atShannon was undertaken by

Quintessentially Handling. Mills sayshe received an approach: “We weretaking delivery and they asked if wecould give them the chance to do thehandling, which we did. I know theindividual involved and I gave himthe opportunity.”

Private Sky’s fleet is mixed: “Wehave, starting from the bottom, aCitation XLS, a Learjet 60, a Falcon900EX, a Challenger 850, and theGlobal Express. We took delivery ofthe Express two weeks ago, new fromMontreal. We’ve had to do sometraining here in Shannon so we’veprobably done about 30 hourstraining, and it is now online.

“The performance has beenexcellent. It’s a lovely aircraft, a greatperformer,” Mills says.

Private Sky meets Moscowcharter demand with Ireland’s

first Global 6000

Elite Jet’s Greg Ermes is delighted that thecompany’s attention to safety has been rewarded.

London Executive Aviation has takenover the management of a CitationXLS to be based in Athens, Greece.The aircraft used to be with a Greekoperator, however LEA reports thatthe operator is no longer trading. MdGeorge Galanopoulos says: “We tookthe aircraft over firstly because weknew the owners as part of an existingrelationship, and because we think anaircraft like this, in that part of theworld, could be useful. It has beenvery busy and has been flying quite alot this summer, and we hope tocontinue in this manner goingforward into the autumn and winter.”

Galanopoulos does admit that theGreek market is a little quiet at themoment, but is confident thatbusiness in the Balkans, along withthe Middle East and Israel, will makeup for that: “It has limitedcompetition in that part of the worldbecause there are not many aircraftthere. We are running mainly vip andbusiness, and some of it is leisure aswell in the summer,” he explains.

The aircraft seems to be a logicalprogression: “There are no newfeatures here. It is a 2007 XLS with anine-seat configuration. It hassatcom – more or less a standard XLSreally. It is not going to change whatwe do significantly. All it means is thatif we have customers that are in thearea for a period of time – the Greekislands have been popular this year –we can serve them there for inter-island transfers, or bring them back tothe south of France or the UK.

“We’re exploring the market now

we have the office in Athens, whichopened in June. We’re looking forother opportunities and to managemore aircraft. We’re hoping in thenext 12 months we’ll have one or twomore aircraft added.”

LEA is also experiencing anupsurge in enquiries for flights to the22nd Olympic Winter Games 2014 in

Sochi, Russia. Over the summerperiod, from May to September 2013inclusive, it liaised with severalbrokers and owners to provide quotesand discuss the logistics of attendingthe Games. In the months of Augustand September alone, its commercialdepartment prepared more than 50 quotes for customers.

Speaking in reference to Sochi,Galanopoulos says: “During thesummer, quote requests for flights toSochi gained real momentum. Withthe Winter Olympics less than fivemonths away, our clients are thinkingabout the next big event to attend.We’ve been discussing drop-offs,pick-ups and short stays in the

Olympic host resort on the Black Sea,where there is going to be plenty tokeep our clients entertained.

“We have also had some specialrequests for people looking to enjoyValentine’s Day as part of theirjourney to the city.”

“The spacious designs and cost-effective long-distance cruisingcapabilities of our Legacys andChallenger 300 make them ideal fortravel to and from Sochi, in Russia’sfar south west.”

In addition, the operator hasadded a new destination to itsEuropean portfolio. LEA’s Phenom300 is now operating flights to andfrom La Môle Saint-Tropez airport inthe French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.

Galanopoulos remarks: “Thegateway to the Côte d’Azur, La MôleSaint-Tropez airport has, until now,been used by very few private charterflights due to the short runway, but itis ideal for our Phenom 300.Previously, clients had no choice butto travel to Saint-Tropez via Cannes-Mandelieu airport or Toulon Saint-Tropez airport, followed by groundtransport – clearly far from ideal.

“The Embraer Phenom 300 istailor-made for this environment andcan fly four passengers into Saint-Tropez and seven passengers from the airport to London. Ourcrews are trained and cleared foroperations into the airport. Inobtaining this new destination, LEAis even better positioned to serve theFrench market.”

4 NOVEMBER 2013 EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

LEA ceo Patrick Margetson-Rushmore (left) with Kimon Daniidis, business development manager based at the Athens office, whichopened in June, and md George Galanopoulos.

LEA has Greece in mind for further fleet expansion

Phoenix Aviation, based in Nairobi,Kenya, will use one of its CessnaCaravans as the ‘chase plane’ to followTracey Curtis-Taylor in her BoeingStearman biplane on a solo journeyfrom Cape Town, South Africa, toGoodwood, UK, to commemorate thesame journey carried out 85 yearsearlier by pilot Lady Heath. In 1928,Mary Heath made front page newsaround the world as the first pilot,male or female, to fly an open-cockpitbiplane from Cape Town to London.

“Phoenix Aviation is delighted tohelp Tracey and her team succeed inthis exciting but very challengingadventure,” says Ingrid Strahammer,vp of marketing for Phoenix.

The ‘Flying Spirit of Artemis’ is theopen cockpit plane Curtis-Taylor will be using. She will be exposed to the elements and the flightrepresents a formidable physical and

logistical challenge. The cockpit and wings of the biplane will be fittedwith cameras and a film crew in thechase plane will follow herthroughout her journey.

In all, Curtis-Taylor will cover7,000 miles in 32 legs over six weeks inan aircraft designed in the 1930s, witha top speed of 85 mph.

Pilot recreates historic flightwith Phoenix on her tail

Tracey Curtis-Taylor will fly a 7,000 milejourney with Phoenix Aviation tailing her.Photo: Justin de Reuck.

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German operator and flighttraining organisation Air Lloydwill be using ProPilots 3Danimation technology tofurther its helicopter missions,including flight training andaerial work. The company saysit will be the launch customerof the ProPilots product andthat it will also use it for therecurrent training ofcommercial pilots.

ProPilots as a company isable to assist with the trainingof private pilots, as well ashaving affiliation with flyingschools and air operators, ofwhich Air Lloyd is one. Thesoftware is able to simulateemergency scenarios visuallyusing text, graphics andanimation.

Air Lloyd has been inbusiness for more than 50years and has been carryingout flight training since the1970s. Flight operationsmanager Helmut Appelfelleroutlines the benefits:

“ProPilots gives you 3Danimations, and these areused to explain thebackground of failures orthings that can happen in theaviation business. This will bevery helpful because we didn’thave this kind of productbefore. Now it’s on the market,and it is very good.”

Air Lloyd has stayedaccident free in its 50 yearswithout the use of ProPilots.However, Appelfeller says theproduct will be key inmaintaining this excellentsafety record: “The operationitself will be more or less thesame in the future, as theProPilots technology will notinfluence our acquisitions oroperations. We can put thistechnology into any futureacquisitions. The product willgive you a general idea of thethings that can happen in theaviation business.”

The technology is based onan R22 and an EC120, due tothese types being the mostcommon training helicoptersin the world. It can also betransferred to other rotarytypes, such as a Robinson 44 orSuper Puma. “Whether it’swhiteout or brownout you arein it doesn’t matter, thetechnology is always thesame,” Appelfeller concludes.

ProPilots will help uphold AirLloyd’s flawless safety record


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Air Lloyd’s Helmut Appelfellerappreciates ProPilots technologythat simulates safety scenarios.

The African Business AviationAssociation welcomed anaudience of 126 delegatesfrom 76 companies at itsinaugural regional sympo-sium at the end of September.

The meeting was held at La Mamounia Hotel,Marrakech, and attracted amix of international andAfrican business aviationstakeholders from across theindustry spectrum. Impor-tantly, government represen-tatives were on hand tocontribute, including AbdenbiManar, general director ofMorocco’s CAA.

The need for wide-rangingengagement was recognisedas a paramount theme. AfBAAfounder and chairman TarekRagheb said during hisopening address: “Businessaviation will be the vehicle thatwill improve economies and

social structure in the region, but it is not possible tochange anything withoutparticipation.” Symposiumattendees included represen-tatives from the OEM, FBO,financial, legal, operator, flightsupport and safety sectors.

Achuzie Ezenagu, md ofNigerian Toucan Aviation,declared: “Africa is open forbusiness,” while Raghebproposed that the creation ofAfBAA general standards totackle challenges head-onwould be valuable.

“With the participationand support of stakeholders,combined with consistencyand transparency from theindustry, we can begin todefine standards for safetyand education that willsupport future African growthand sustainably develop theindustry,” he said.

AfBAA’s first regionalsymposium suggests Africa

is ready to step up

Inaer France has beensuccessful in its bid for thecontract to operate SAMU(emergency medical assis-tance) helicopters in theProvence-Alpes-Côte d’Azurregion. The regional contract isthe first of its kind for theFrench Ministry of Health.

The company will intro-duce five EC135 helicoptersfrom January 2014 forhospitals in Marseille,Avignon, Toulon, Nice andGap. The Marseille helicopterwill be a 24-hour service, andthe others will be 12 hours. Thebases at Marseille and Avignonwill be sub-leased to Mont-Blanc Helicopters.

Inaer flies only helicoptersequipped with autopilot, andis said to be the only privateoperator in France certified fornight vision goggles. Thiscontract allows it to demon-strate that such technologycan be implemented atreasonable costs. “Managingmultiple bases as a regionalplatform is a way of cuttingcosts and optimising servicesfor different hospitals toprovide a better service,” statesmd Frédéric Goig.

An EC135 T2+ will now beadded to the fleet, bringing thenumber of EMS dedicatedaircraft to eight.

Inaer Francewins regional

SAMUcontract

AfBAA founder and chairman Tarek Ragheb underscored theimportance of organisations across the industry in developing theburgeoning business aviation sector in Africa.

Frédéric Goig, Inaer France md,will devote five EC135s to thecontract.


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Birmingham Airport’s development director Will Heynes (left) congratulates EurojetAviation managing director Graeme Campbell on the company’s award as besthandling agent/FBO at the BACA Awards 2013. The Citation XLS+ can be seen in thebackground.

Erik Scheidt, director of Germanoperator K5-Aviation, reveals that hiscompany has added a Global XRS toits fleet, on the back of a successfulspell with a Global Express: “Wealready have one aircraft which isflying very well and which is charteredout quite a lot. We just saw the need toincrease the fleet,” he says.

Scheidt explains that range was atthe forefront of the operator’s needswhen selecting this aircraft. Havingreceived it at the beginning of August,the XRS has been running for a coupleof months and is performing verywell: “Things are exactly as expected,because it’s doing the same job as thefirst aircraft.

“The one we had previously was astraight Global Express, a normal one.We saw the need to have a neweraircraft available for charter also. Ouroperation is only vip charter. Whilethe Express was running pure vipcharter, the XRS is an owner andcharter aircraft.”

K5-Aviation has added an ACJ aswell, and now has two ACJs with athird ordered for next year. Scheidtsays that although these differentmodels are not assigned to differentfunctions, for clients who requiresomething bigger, the Airbus isavailable. “The newly added Airbushas slightly less range but is still along-range aircraft. It also provides abigger cabin which can fly biggergroups. We fly 18 passengers on theACJ versus 14 on the Global,” Scheidtcontinues. “We received ETOPS 180certification for the Airbus in themiddle of the year. ”

The company has added a numberof personnel to account for thisincrease in operational size, includingpilots and ground staff. The roster alsocontains staff from Augsburg Airways,which ceased operations in October.

The next ACJ will go intocompletion at the beginning of 2014,and K5-Aviation is due to receive the green aircraft in February, with aview to entering service at thebeginning of 2015.

“We are doing the full range ofoperations, meaning that wepurchase aircraft for clients, we do theoutfitting, and later on the entry intoservice and operation of the aircraft aswell as charter for managed aircraft,”Scheidt remarks.

K5 invests in XRS in light of tried andtested Global

UK discount retailer TJ Morris hastaken delivery of a vip-configured Bell429 which it will use to transportowner Tom Morris around thecountry for store visits.

Morris says he made the decisionbased on the size of the passengercabin and that the performance so farhas been excellent: “We have anAS350 so the main feature we neededwas a twin,” he explains. “We canmake more visits to stores now as weare less weather restricted.”

Morris will be able to takeadvantage of the Bell 429’s IFRcapability, certified for single or dualpilot operations, to maximisesituational awareness and reducepilot workload during corporatemissions. The company reveals it wasattracted by the speed, range andhover performance, as well ascomfort and cost management.

It offers a fully-integrated glasscockpit, advanced drive system andWAAS navigation. Additional safetyfeatures include a collectivemounted throttle, damage toleranthub and rotor system, and energyattenuating seats.

The company is currentlyconstructing a £105m distributioncentre in Amesbury and is looking togrow the business to over 700 storesin the next four years. The latestaircraft will also allow Morris tosurvey potential sites for new stores.

Another Bell 429 in the UK is nowfully operational for National Grid.

The aircraft was delivered to theutility company for the inspectionand maintenance of power lines, and received EASA-certifiedcustomisations at Bell’s Europeanheadquarters in Prague. Thesemodifications included an operatorworkstation in the cabin of theaircraft with a SkyQuest 20” HDdisplay, MX-10 control unit, HD nano flash recorder, USB hub portsand keyboard.

“We chose the Bell 429 as it met allthe stringent criteria required for ourmulti-task operations,” says MikeHannon, overhead lines field supportmanager at National Grid.

“We tasked Bell with supplying anaircraft customised to provide ourcrew with a unique operatingenvironment, all within challengingtimescales. This is a fantastic productthat has exceeded our expectations.”

Retailer takes vip Bell 429 while another entersservice for National Grid

Tom Morris will be able to make morevisits to his UK-wide stores as the Bell429 is less restricted by the weather.

Empire Aviation Group has taken ontwo Falcon 900DX aircraft which willbe based in Africa. It will officiallylaunch them, as well as displaying itsaircraft sales and managementservices, at the Dubai Air Show. Amongthese services is a smart app whichallows owners to check the status oftheir aircraft and obtain flight, routeand destination information.

It has been a promising year forthe group. In 2013 EAG has addedthree aircraft to its managed fleet,sold three jets, and its team has grownto 120 staff. The fleet now spans theMiddle East and Africa, and therecent additions will bolster theAfrican wing. The company now hasaround 23 business jets undermanagement across these regions, aswell as in India.

Paras Dhamecha, executivedirector, says: “This Dubai Air Showwill be a very special occasion when it

is hosted for the first time at the newDubai World Central airport. It comesat an exciting time for EmpireAviation Group and allows us topresent our full portfolio of aviationservices at the event, whileentertaining owners, clients, partnersand guests at our dedicated pavilion.This has been a very strong year for usin the Middle East.”

Dhamecha also highlights theimportance of the Falcon additions inlight of a demand for larger aircraft:“We brought the two Falcon 900sunder management in Septemberand October 2013 and they are veryactive, operating on European andAfrican sectors.

“They reflect the trend among ourmanaged fleet owners for large bodyaircraft and this is also driving ourgrowth, as we expand to meet therequirements of operating thesetypes of longer range business jets.”

Dubai show is key opportunityto showcase EAG’s Falcons

Eurojet Aviation says that the newCitation XLS+ which is it managinghas enjoyed a healthy number ofcharters over the summer months.The aircraft has one of the largestcabins in its class and canaccommodate up to eight passengers,with wi-fi and fully reclining seats.The rest of Eurojet’s mixed fleet iscomprised of Citation Bravos, Excelsand XLS aircraft. Some of thesemodels are owned while some aremanaged.

Md Graeme Campbell enthusesabout the latest aircraft: “With itscombination of cabin size, range and reliability, the XLS+ is one of themost popular private jets availableand is well suited to the Europeanmarket. It has performed extremelywell and is popular with passengersand industry professionals. Theaircraft was a regular visitor to thepopular yacht and second-homelocations during the summermonths, and we are now preparingfor a busy winter ski season.”

In addition, the industryrecognised Eurojet Aviation’s servicesat the BACA excellence awards inLondon’s Guildhall. The company’sbusiness aviation centre inBirmingham, UK, which includes41,000 sq ft hangarage and full serviceFBO, was named as the best handlingagent/FBO at the event.

Campbell reflects on this: “Inaddition to growing our aircraft fleet,we are delighted to have received thisglobally-recognised award fromBACA. We are constantly looking atways to improve our client services tooffer the highest standards of travel.To have received this endorsementfrom the world’s largest network forthe air charter market just 18 monthsafter opening at Birmingham is atribute to the dedication and hardwork of all our staff.

“We are now actively focusing onavenues to expand our FBO networkand are working with a range ofpartners to explore acquisitionopportunities in the UK and Europe.”

XLS+ proves popularwith yacht owners

Erik Scheidt saw the need to increasethe K5-Aviation fleet.


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International Jet Management hasadded two more aircraft to itsmanaged fleet. The company, whichoperates from Vienna, is now runningan additional Falcon 900 and a Learjet40XR. Both aircraft are registered in Austria.

“We are very happy about theseadditions to our fleet, especially aswe already operate both aircrafttypes. IJM is very proud of its largeand homogenous Falcon 900 fleet,and we are very happy to enlarge ourLearjet fleet as well,” says ceo andfounder Felix Feller (see front pagepicture).

“Thanks to our motivated andexperienced staff at our headquartersin Vienna, it was very easy tointegrate these aircraft into our fleet.We are committed to fulfilling thehigh expectations of the owners ofthese aircraft, and the efficient andfast implementation into the fleetwas the first successful proof of this,”he adds.

Both aircraft are available forcharter flights and will be promotedthrough the company’s charterpartner, AC Aviation Charter in

Zurich, Switzerland.IJM also manages Isle of Man-

registered aircraft alongside theAustrian ones. The latest addition tothe M register fleet is a GlobalExpress, which IJM has taken over asof November. The operator hasobtained the management of fouradditional aircraft during the last fivemonths. Bernhard Wipfler, salesdirector, adds: “The market feedbackfor our services is extremely positive.However, we are very keen to keepthe high service quality standardrather than growing too fast. This is very important for us in order tooffer the best possible service for our valued existing aircraftmanagement clients.”

Managing director RobertSchmölzer sums up the success of2013 so far: “We are satisfied with theway the year has developed for us,and we are confident we willwelcome one or more aircraft to joinour fleet by the end of 2013. Weanticipate we will be in a position toannounce more exciting news whenwe celebrate our 10-year anniversaryin November.”

10-year-old IJM makes twoadditions to managed fleet

Yorkshire-based operator Multiflightanswered a plea for help from themother of a baby with Erb’s Palsy, andflew the baby and his parents home toPalma, Majorca, after a crucialprocedure at Leeds hospital.

Mother Justine Murphy wrote toMultiflight with the support of theErb’s Palsy Group, a UK-basedorganisation supporting familiesaffected by the condition, requestingthe company’s help following nervegraft surgery on her son Seth.

Seth’s condition affects themovement, sensation and function ofhis right shoulder, arm and hand.This condition is likely to be life-long

and will leave him with a significantdeficit in the functional use of hisright arm. Seth’s care was transferredfrom Majorca where the family live, toa specialist centre in Leeds. Followingan assessment in September he wasbooked in for nerve graft surgery, andit was deemed imperative that thissurgery was undertaken as soon aspossible in order that some functionmight return to the arm.

“After surgery he will be in a lot ofpain, and we need to keep him flatand as comfortable as possible,”Justine wrote in a letter to Multiflight.

“This means being able to havehim laid in his cot opposed to causing

him discomfort in our arms on acommercial flight, or being strappedinto a car seat which just won’t beviable as his top half must stay rigidso as not to affect the work that willhave been done with his nerve graft.He will also be tender as his legs willbe strapped up from where theyremove the spare nerves from.”

The flight took place on acompany-owned Citation Excel.Miles Beecham, Multiflight director,says: “We were moved by Seth’s storyand wanted to help if we possiblycould. We are delighted that we wereable to assist in giving baby Seth thebest possible chance of recovery.”

Multiflight carries baby boy homefollowing life-changing operation

Paul and Justine Murphy onboard a Multiflight Citation Excel with baby Seth. The operator says that it covered every eventuality toensure Seth’s safety and stability on the flight following his operation.

The London Helicopter is using twoAS350 Squirrels to conductsightseeing missions. Managingdirector Chris Mann says that asidefrom the EC130, the Squirrel is themost suitable aircraft for this task:“We have added the dual front leftseat modification to carry up to sixpassengers on each trip, so it is very cost effective. All seats faceforwards with unobstructed views,and the Squirrel can be used forlifting, filming and other utilitymissions when not on sightseeingduties,” he says.

Mann remarks that the Squirrels’performance so far has beenexcellent, and he adds that, althoughthe company may have chosen theEC130 if money were no object, theAS350 is the best machine for itspurpose, possessing versatility andcapability.

London Helicopter Centres, theAOC holder and a 50 per cent stake-holder in The London Helicopter, willhave many uses for the Squirrels. In

addition to sightseeing over London,corporate charter and filming willalso be carried out. The latestSquirrels are expected to fulfill liftingand other utility work in the monthsahead, particularly when LondonHelicopter Centres’ amalgamationinto the British InternationalHelicopters brand is complete.

The Squirrels are a trusted aircraftfor Mann: “We have been using theAS350 for many years on sightseeingtrips. What’s new about these twoaircraft is the six passenger capabilityto support our new venture at the Barclays London Heliport atBattersea,” he says.

“Sightseeing tends to be a couplesand family choice, so the ability tocarry three couples or a family of six isa great bonus.”

Mann believes that in order tomanage an ever increasing demandfor sightseeing flights from bothBattersea and Redhill, a furtheraircraft will be added to the fleetwithin the next 12 months.

Squirrels fit the bill forsightseeing over London

and film work

Chris Mann is pleased that his Squirrels can accommodate up to six passengers, anddeems them ideal for sightseeing flights.

IN OUR NEXT ISSUERegional review of business charter: UK

Finance: funding options and innovationsPUBLISHED DECEMBER 12

get from A to B in a private environ-ment, I can see the immense benefitof that, as long as you’re not lookingto go too far. Transferring that into thecorporate business charter market ismore challenging, however.”

As to operators themselves, EBANinitially spoke to GlobeAir ceoBernhard Fragner, a specialist VLJoperator that is conducting anoperation comprised entirely ofCitation Mustangs. He confirms how

the motivation for clientele to enterthis market switched: “The maindriver for the decision to jump on thisVLJ business was driven by the ideathat we might convince new entrantsinto this service, so maybeconvincing people from first class tojump on very light jets on ad hoccharter, and also to maybe open upthe product range to the bottom. Thiswas the driver,” he remarks.

“The idea was to come frombusiness class into VLJ but I would saythat this didn’t actually happen at all.It was only the drop down that endedup happening.”

GlobeAir began operations at atime that was financially fraught: “Westarted out straight after the crashstarted in 2008 and we got our AOC.We began operations in September2008, literally a couple of days afterthe Lehman brothers story wentaround the world, so it was a toughfirst half a year I would say, but wehave learnt over the last five years thatslowly the aircraft – in our case theCitation Mustang – was accepted bythe market more and more, andpeople were becoming more priceconscious, so downgrading was thenthe slogan of the last five years.”

The very light jet sector isconsidered by many a niche marketand has been fraught withcontroversy since its inception. TimBarber of Jet Brokers Europe hasquestioned whether the sector existsat all: “There is lots of debate as towhether it actually exists, orwhether it’s just a light jet with ashort range. A few people such asBlink are making the VLJ marketwork for them, and there are plentyof people who have tried it, failedand are getting out of it,” he says.

It can, at times, be troublesome tofind a significant profit marginthrough these means: “When you’vegot your fixed costs, the costs to yourpilots and so on, they are the same fora VLJ as with a larger aircraft withmore capacity and it’s hard to get areturn,” Barber says.

“From an owner’s point of view, ifyou want a relatively low-cost way to


VLJs provide cut-price optionfor clients, yet operators must

still meet midsize costs

ME & MYAIRCRAFTVery light jets

ExecuJet Africa earnsaccreditationsExecuJet Africa has been awardedthe Flight Safety Foundation BasicAviation Risk Standard accredit-ation and the National AirTransportation Association Safety1st ground rating.

The company met therequirements of an audit carriedout by HART Aviation Services forthe BARS certification.

ASB extends capabilitiesAir Service Basel has recentlyextended its EASA Part 145maintenance organisationapproval. It is now authorised toprovide extensive line maintenanceservices to Falcon 900/EX/EASyand Falcon 2000/EX/EASy seriesaircraft, as well as line maintenanceto the entire Pilatus PC-12 aircraftseries, and the Cessna 550 Bravoand 560 XL/XLS.

Shannon FBO buildingnears completionAir Elite Network has addedQuintessentially Aviation Handlingat Shannon airport, Ireland, to itsnetwork. Though the FBO is alreadyoperational and providing fullground services to aircraft, theconstruction of terminal facilities isongoing and slated for completionin December 2013.

Biggin Hill is first site forreward cardAir BP has unveiled its first everloyalty product for general aviationcustomers, the Sterling Rewardprepaid visa card.

London Biggin Hill airport hasbeen selected as the first site tooffer special rewards on the card,with holders able to receive ten

times the normal cash back on fuelpurchases. For the time being, thedeal is only available to US cardholders.

Rockwell Collins unveilsEVS-3000Rockwell Collins has released itshigh fidelity EVS-3000 enhancedvision system, including aproprietary multi-spectral EVSsensor that significantly improvesdetection of outside terrain,hazards and obstacles in low-visibility conditions caused byweather phenomena such as fog.

Jeppesen improves route optimisationJeppesen has introduced newfeatures for its FlitePlan Onlinesolution for business aviationoperators.

These include a CFMUvalidation and multiple scenarioanalysis functionality. Recentlycleared routes now provideoperators with flexible, optimalrouting options and higher flightplan filing acceptance rates.

This route optimisation abilityseeks to reduce overall fuelconsumption and simplifies theoverall flight planning process foroperators.

Rockwell Collins map is lighterAirshow 500, the first 3D movingmap system for light business jets,has been launched by RockwellCollins. It comes fully loaded withhighly detailed worldwide mapsand many other standard features,including passenger-selectablelanguages and settings adjustableany time, anywhere.

The Airshow 500 has beendesigned as a lighter-weight drop-in replacement for the Airshow 410and is compatible with aninteractive iPad app.

Bombardier targets 605maintenance costsBombardier has announced itsChallenger 605 MAX programme,which is designed to further reducedirect maintenance costsassociated with in-serviceChallenger 605s.

The manufacturer vows toreplace key components with thelatest configurations that meet thebaseline operational level of thecurrent production model.

The intention of this is toimprove dispatch availability,significantly reduce DMCs,increase component mean timebetween unscheduled removals,lower no-fault-found rates andimprove customer experience.

OPERAT IONS NEWS . . .

Blink has a uniform fleet of Mustangs, with an average sector length of one hour and 20 minutes.

Meadow Meats’ Kobus Dicks (left) withKen Ross from Eclipse Aviation. Dickssays his VLJ is a significant improvementon his former King Air 90.

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Air BP vp north America David Wadewith Robert Walters, business develop-ment manager at London Biggin Hill.

the simple maintenance programmeis the best thing about the aircraft.However, like Fragner, he feels theaircraft can be let down by its payloadand range. A desirable upgrade isreplacing the PW615 engines forPW617, as seen in the Phenom 100. Inhis opinion the Mustang aircraft isstill the ‘best in its class,’ bearing inmind the purchase cost.

SaxonAir’s Christopher Mace has acompany-owned Mustang and alsojointly manages another aircraft ofthis type with Catreus. He says hiscompany has enjoyed very goodsupport from Marshall AviationServices at Cambridge, but has hadissues with manufacturer supportwhen confronted with an AOGsituation. Mace is satisfied with thedispatch reliability but says theaircraft type has a few notoriousproblems not rectified by Cessna andthat “these will eventually comearound if you operate them longenough.”

He feels the cabin is a little smallbut says that the passengers quite likeit nonetheless, and there is alsoplenty of baggage space availableconsidering the size of the aircraft.According to Mace the Mustangrepresents good value, and he saysthat there is always a place in themarket for the entry level jet whendealing with lower passengernumbers. Fuel burn is considered tobe minimal, with a low MTOW of lessthan four tonnes. Mace feels thatdespite these advantages, themanufacturer has failed to deal ‘headon’ with several known Mustangfaults, and says that a more proactiveapproach is needed to combat this.SaxonAir has a mixed fleet and Macesays that his Mustangs complementthe varying aircraft types which rangefrom turboprops to mid size jets; theentry level VLJ sits in between thesecategories.

Embraer’s Phenom 100 positionsitself as the Mustang’s direct rival.One operator which flies the type isFlyjet of Poland. Operations executivePawel Chorzelski says thatmaintenance support in respect of itsPhenom 100 has been ‘very accurate’and on time, and after five months offlying the company has enjoyed 100per cent dispach reliability. Beingsituated in Poland, the Phenom isvery good when compared to aMustang because of the extra range itoffers, especially to Mediterraneansea locations. Chorzelski believes thatlanding distances are very good, andpayload compared with other VLJs isalso favourable. The cabin is also wellappointed: “We get a roomy cabinwith nice interior that most peoplesay is better than a CJ2 while having amuch lower price per hour,” saysChorzelski. He adds that the cabinand luggage area size is the best thingabout the aircraft but does point out

that the lack of a fifth certified seat is adisadvantage. A desired upgrade is tohave coffee and hot water in heatedtanks, as well as more storage space.

Flyjet says that across the boardthe Phenom is exceeding itsexpectations, and that due to the hightail, big cabin and ‘big look’ theaircraft has more of a light jet thanvery light jet feel about it.

The height of the aircraft is similar

Fragner is pleased with theeconomics of the Mustang andcurrently has 11 in operation. He alsoaffirms that the market is picking upbut that this recovery is very much agradual one: “We are still having totake steady steps. If you look at themovement data and published datafrom our industry, it is still a decliningmarket, year-on-year it is declining.But the Mustang business and the VLJ business is still growing, so wewant to keep adding aircraft step-by-step, and gain more and moremarket share.

“We think there is still a lot tocatch, mainly focusing on the clientscoming down from midsize inEurope, this is the biggest group. Thecost savings are definitely significantand this is our unique selling point.”

Cameron Ogden of Blink alsooperates a fleet of Citation Mustangs,and claims that this type was the firstVLJ to be certified in Europe. “TheEclipse was at the time unable tocertify and the Phenom was somemonths off,” he says.

Blink operates its VLJs in a pan-European business model, andprofesses to offer some of the lowestjet prices on the market to a customerbase that is broker as well as end-userorientated. It was founded on an airtaxi type model, and Blink achievesthis through the use of a single typefleet, like the low cost airlines, andreceives the benefits and savingsassociated with this.

Ogden says that despite thesavings, the Mustang does not havelong range: “The aircraft’s main sweetspot is around an hour and 20minutes, that is the average sectortime across all of our flights,” hecontinues. “But if you take theentirety of the data within CFMU, forEuropean flights, the average flighttime is about an hour and 20 minutes.That’s why the aircraft isfundamentally at the sweet spot. Theaverage passenger load in Europe is1.9. The aircraft we operate is the fourseater aircraft and that is why I thinkit has become so popular recently. It’s an aircraft that does what it sayson the tin.”

Ogden believes that the VLJ marketis very much an ‘existent’ one: “Forme there is a clear difference betweena larger Citation and a Mustang.There is a difference in price in thecharter market and there is adifference in the way the aircraft ismaintained in terms of the simplicity.The fact that they put ‘very’ on thefront of it is a way of distinguishinganother category. You are getting adifferent product when you get on aMustang versus getting on a CJ2.There is obviously similarity betweena CJ2 and a Mustang, but it’s justslightly shorter.”

According to CMFU data, VLJactivity is up 12 or 13 per cent thisyear, with Blink perhaps up as muchas about 19-20 per cent.

The Citation Mustang is certainlyprevalent in the VLJ market, and notexclusively to the operators alreadycited. The aircraft type is generallyregarded as a reliable product from ahighly reputable manufacturer. ClausHable of Wings4Us confirms this,saying that he is satisfied with themaintenance support offered andvery impressed with the Mustang’sdispatch reliability and operatingcapability. Hable does, however, feelthat the market is practicallysaturated with this model and for thatreason the aircraft is not holding itsvalue. “Too many Mustangs havebeen placed in the market by Cessna,discounting them heavily,” he says.

Patrick Margetson-Rushmore ofLondon Executive Aviation also

operates the Mustang, with his fleetincluding four of Cessna’s very lightjets. He is also very satisfied acrossthe board with the product andpraises the aircraft’s reliability oncemore. He does, however, remark thathe has encountered difficulty onoccasions when trying to charter theMustang as his clients usually preferto travel in a bigger aircraft. A longercabin is his most desired upgrade,and the company will in future beable to turn to the Citation M2 to fillthis purpose, perhaps leading to lessVLJ charter for LEA.

Fragner of GlobeAir would like tosee his Mustangs offer more rangeand payload, but is nonethelesscontent with their operational ability.He is not a great admirer of thespeedbrakes or generators on theaircraft, and desirable upgradesinclude a G1000 SafeTaxi and asatphone.

Ogden is also satisfied in all areaswith his six Mustangs, and believes


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Champagne: It is all smiles for Dominiek Deman and Luc Olivier (left and right), salesdirectors for Abelag, Belgium, pictured with head of sales for Abelag France SébastienDequenne, at the delivery of a Falcon 2000EX earlier this year. However, the companyhas departed from the VLJ market, and has released each of its three Phenom 100.

“The idea was tocome from businessclass into VLJ but Iwould say that this

didn’t happen at all”Bernhard Fragner

Blink’s recently promoted captain SimonKipling at the controls of a Mustang.

Continued on next page


GlobeAir ceo Bernhard Fragner launched his company amid the financial crisis of2008. Five years on and the operator is flourishing, operating 11 Citation Mustangs.

to that of Flyjet’s Learjet 60XR and it isequipped with a closed toilet at theback which is said to give more priv-acy than that offered in the Mustang.

Yet not all operators areenthusiastic about the Phenom 100’sperformance. Abelag used to operatethree Phenom 100s, but the Belgiancompany no longer runs any of them.Sales manager Luc Olivier explainsthe reasons why: “The Phenom is agood aircraft when it comes to thequestion of reliability; on that frontwe have nothing bad to say about it.The problem we found is that it wasvery limited – you have to make yourcalculations correctly,” he says. “It isentering the market of the CJ1 andCJ2. It’s not adding value to thatmarket, it’s just competing in it.”

Olivier highlights the challengesfaced by operators who fly this type of aircraft, as it must still be flownwith two pilots along with thedocumentation this entails. When allchecks have been made, only fourpassenger seats are available andadditionally the Phenom 100 needs alot of runway length, he says.


Gulfstream extendsPrestige coverageGulfstream is expanding the role ofcommercial sales representativePrestige Jet to handle Gulfstreamaircraft transactions in France aswell as Italy and Switzerland.

Latitude prototype to flyearly in 2014Cessna’s Citation Latitude is onschedule for its first prototypeflight in the first quarter of 2014. Anenhanced mock-up was on displaythroughout NBAA in Las Vegas andfeatured an informational gallery inthe aft portion of the cabin,showing programme highlightsmarking the Latitude’s progressiontowards its first prototype take off.

Bell displays 429WLGBell put the Bell 429WLG on showfor the first time at the NBAA show.The aircraft is an upgrade to theBell 429 and features wheeledlanding gear in place of traditionalskids. The helicopter’s ability toland in a range of environmentsand conditions gives operators ofall mission profiles additionalflexibility. Its taxiing capabilitymeans it can reposition in limitedspaces and situations that requireground taxi to gain closer access to FBOs.

Embraer introducesLineage 1000EEmbraer has revealed its Lineage1000E jet. It is to be the manu-facturer’s largest executive jet andcarries up to 19 passengers in fivecabin zones. The aircraft isequipped with an electronic fly-by-wire flight control system.

It is expected to operate well atrestrictive airports like Aspen andTeterboro, where destinations as faras Vancouver, Quito or Los Angeleswill be within reach. Steepapproach capability enables accessto London City too.

PC-24 sales and serviceput in placePilatus has formally established asales and service network for itsupcoming PC-24 twin-jet.

Authorised Pilatus centres havebeen appointed for selling andservicing the PC-24 and includefacilities in Botswana and thefactory facility in Stans.

Beechcraft offers medicalsafetyBeechcraft believes it has becomethe first airframe manufacturer toprovide MedAire’s complete suite ofmedical and travel safety serviceson all new aircraft delivered to

business and general aviationcustomers.

The suite includes travel safetyand security assistance in additionto the medical safety programmealready available to new Beechcraftowners.

Bombardier celebrates 50years of LearjetBombardier celebrated the 50thanniversary of the Learjet at thisyear’s NBAA conference andexhibition in Las Vegas. It presenteda line-up of business jets, includingthe Learjet 75, Challenger 300,Challenger 605 and Global 6000jets, alongside the Learjet 23aircraft, the first of its type.

Bristow’s first AW189 fliesThe first production AW189helicopter has performed itsmaiden flight. The aircraft isexpected to be delivered to Bristowby the end of the year for offshoretransport in the North Sea, withoperational readiness planned inearly 2014.

G650 sets round-the-worldrecordA Gulfstream G650 has completedthe fastest westbound, around-the-world flight for a non-supersonicaircraft. It circled the globe in 41hours, seven minutes, establishinga world record in its class.

The G650 left San Diego’s BrownField municipal airport and, aftercrossing most of the Pacific Ocean,landed at Guam in 10 hours, 29minutes. It then covered the secondleg, Guam to Dubai World Central,in 10 hours. The third leg, Dubai toCape Verde, took eight hours and 52minutes, with the final leg back toBrown Field lasting 10 hours, 10minutes.

A IRCRAFT NEWS . . .

Abelag feels that the Mustangshave saturated the bottom end of thecharter market. The involvement ofbrokers in negotiating deals has mademargins even narrower, resulting inthe bottom end being ‘killed off’.

Olivier also remarks that the costsfaced by the operator are very similarin a Phenom 100 to those for a largerCJ2: “If you look at the total operatingcost of the aircraft and put the CJ2next to the Phenom 100, there is not alot of difference at the end of the day.Landing charges are about the same,handling charges are about the sameand the cost of the two pilots sitting in front is exactly the same whetherthey are sitting in the Phenom 100 orthe CJ2.

“I think the aircraft is more aimedat the pilot-owner market, but that’s adifferent ball game in Europecompared with the US,” he adds.

There are several operating faultsthat Olivier feels Embraer needs torectify: “The runway length is one ofthe problems, the braking system is adelicate area, and also if you startusing the Phenom 100 for a lot ofcharter flying, the interior of theaircraft is very nice, but it is verydelicate. It’s beautiful to have a lovelybig luggage bay at the back, but youdo need to make your calculationscorrectly with that aircraft if you donot want to run into trouble.

“I’m not sure that commercially

they are the best thing you can buy.”Another aircraft which sits in the

VLJ category is the Eclipse, and EBANspoke at length with Eclipse owner-operator Kobus Dicks of MeadowMeats, Cape Town, about hisopinions on its performance andsuitability: “We signed the agreementfor the Eclipse in January, and thenthey had to fly a pilot over. The aircraftwas in South Africa already from anAir Force defence show in Octoberlast year,” Dicks explains.

“I saw it and initially I didn’t reallyshow much interest. In January Ilooked at it again and we signed theagreement on condition that theywould send someone from the Statesto South Africa, because nobody hada rating on it. That was probablymiddle of February. I went to theStates in March to do my training atSimcom in Orlando, and then theysent a pilot with me in April.”

Despite the lengthy process to getthe project off the ground, MeadowMeats has not looked back since:“The performance has beenunbelievable. Honestly it is muchbetter than we expected. We arenormally maximum three up, weclimb to 37,000 ft directly. The cruiseis 360 knots and burns 380-400 lbs offuel, which is less than the King Air 90did. It’s an absolute pleasure, it reallyis, I’m very happy with it.

Meadow Meats operated the KingAir 90 and Dicks had never flown in a private business jet before. “Itsclosest competitor is probably theMustang, but this aircraft is 10 to 20knots faster, with much lower fuelburn. It goes into short strips – to meit’s absolutely the perfect aircraft.There is obviously the limitation thatwe can’t go on to a grass surface,which is where I’d often like to land,but there is a huge saving for us onfuel and maintenance compared to aKing Air 90.

“Last summer the maximum wehad was 27,000 ft with the King Air 90and at this height you were just stuckin the weather continuously. With theEclipse we can fly above the weather,3,000-4,000 ft above it. This aircraft iscomfortable at 37,000,” he adds.

The aircraft is well suited totransporting Meadow Meats staff

Cameron Ogden of Blink feels that the VLJ market is clearly defined, with the Mustangsetting itself apart from larger Citations such as the CJ2.

A GlobeAir Mustang mid-flight.

from base to base: “I live in CapeTown and we have four abbatoirbranches spread across the country.The furthest one is 730 miles fromCape Town, and the closest is 510. Soit’s a proper distance. Flying back toCape Town at night, this aircraft isabout an hour quicker than the KingAir was. Previously it had been a longtrip, three and a half hours, especiallyafter a hard day. The Eclipse flies toCape Town in two and a half hours,and the other way you can do it inabout one hour 55, to two hours. It’s amassive saving.”

Along with its base to basecapability, the Eclipse is especiallywell adapted to flying into Dicks’Cape Town headquarters: “This isdefinitely a single pilot aircraft. It’s aneasy aircraft to fly and it’s got abeautiful system. Going in to CapeTown this time of year it’s alwaysraining and low cloud, but this is sucha joy to fly. It is also very safe – I can’tthink of many aircraft that are saferthan this. The single engineperformance is unbelievable.

Dicks believes that the aircraft iswell suited to the region forbusinessmen: “I definitely believethere is a market for quite a few ofthem. And they come in cheap too,compared with a Mustang or Phenom100. Your only other option is a TBM850, but that is a lot slower and still asingle engine.”

Dicks doesn’t envisage any reasonto change: “I really wouldn’t invest inanother aircraft. I don’t need to. I don’tneed anything bigger and I’m notgoing to fly cheaper in any otheraircraft. I’ve probably got another 15years of flying left in me, and I don’tsee why this aircraft can’t last that.”

It seems that although VLJs did notachieve their anticipated market,customers that have dropped downfind using these aircraft aneconomically sound, viable option.Positioned between light jets andturboprops, especially in the case ofowner-operators like Kobus Dicks,they are ideally suited to theirfunction. It remains to be seenwhether or not new entrants into thebusiness aviation sector will find theirway in via VLJs, with some staff atEclipse forecasting that personal,private travel is where the industry isheaded. Yet even if this does notmaterialise, the appeal of the verylight jet is widespread, the state of themarket is healthy, and a return to thestability pre-2008 seems more of anachievable reality than in the pastcouple of years. ■

“The cost of the twopilots is exactly thesame whether theyare in the Phenom100 or the CJ2”

Luc OlivierContinued from previous page


Me & My AircraftWe are keen to hear your views. Log inat www.ebanmagazine.com and you willfind voting forms for each type in yourfleet. It takes moments to complete,and the more replies we receive thebetter our final reports will be. Youruser number and pin is on the back ofthe mailing sheet included with yourmagazine, or request a reminder on the web site.

Make your opinion count!

“I really wouldn’tinvest in another

aircraft. I don’t needanything bigger.

Kobus Dicks

The Gulfstream flight crew forthe G650’s around-the-world record.From left are Tom Horne, Bud Ball, EricParker, Ross Oetjen and JohnMcGrath.

High-spec Falcon 5X unveiledDassault has released its biggest and most advanced Falcon jet. The Falcon5X has the latest flight control system, new aerodynamics and numerousother technologies previously pioneered in Dassault’s militaryprogrammes. The 16-passenger aircraft will have a range of 5,200 nm,connecting Los Angeles with London, Sao Paulo with Chicago,Johannesburg with Geneva or Paris with Beijing. To be priced at about$45m in 2013 dollars, the Falcon 5X is expected to make its first flight in thefirst quarter of 2015 and to achieve certification before the end of 2016.


Despite many calls for infrastructure, the Turkish outlook is decidedly rosy

major challenge we are facing.”Dursun also points out that under

current regulations, operators arestuck between the rulings of EASAand local regulations. On one handthere are Turkish CAA requirements,and on the other hand there areinternal organisations askingoperators to maintain EASArequirements. At times it can bedifficult to know which rule to follow,as and when CAA audits arise:“Sometimes EASA is much morerestrictive than the Turkish authorityand sometimes Turkish regulationsare giving completely differentadvice,” he explains.

The company undertook anunusual air ambulance call in recentmonths, when it was commissionedto fly a patient in Turkey who wasdischarged from hospital after initialprogress. The team had to move thispatient to Bosnia-Herzegovina, buton their way they received a call to saythat another patient in Albania had just had an accident and neededto go for treatment in Turkey, asprovisions in Albania were notsufficient to give the patient propertreatment. When the aircraft wasabout to land in Bosnia-Herzegovina,it had to divert to Albania to pick upthe second patient and come back toTurkey at very short notice.

Redstar also looked after a highlycontagious tuberculosis patient whowas stuck in Baghdad and had to be moved. In light of numerousmissions in locations such as Iraq andLibya, the team says it always expectsthe unexpected.

operators in Europe for missions thatwe cannot use our own aircraft fordue to the range. We are lookingtowards areas such as Libya too.”

Dursun’s company has beenoperating the current aircraft since2005, and there have been no otheracquisitions of late. He feels thatbusiness aviation facilities in Turkeyare underdeveloped: “Turkey is alarge country when compared tomany European countries, with ahuge population, but the aviationdevelopment is not quite there yet.The number of airports is increasingbut the majority of them are still notworking on a 24-hour basis, which isof course crucial for emergencyoperations.

“As a helicopter operator, werealised that there is not a greatnumber of helipads, even in Istanbul.We are still struggling to build theinfrastructure to capture the growthwe are seeing in Turkey. This is the

Turkey is now establishing a growingpresence in the European businessaviation market, and has been aregular talking point for theindustry’s major players. This wasnever more evident than at therecent regional forum of theEuropean Business AviationAssociation, which was held inIstanbul in early October.

EBAA ceo Fabio Gamba said thatholding a meeting in Turkey was“long overdue,” while EBAA presidentBrian Humphries remarked that theregion is a “pocket of excitement.” In many respects it seems that Turkey is a highly favourableenvironment to conduct business, asoperators are treated to taxexemptions on purchases and fuel –uncommon in the EU.

The statistics back up thesesentiments, as Turkey has had a 29.6 per cent growth in trafficbetween 2008 and 2012, while inEurope as a whole traffic decreasedby 5.4 per cent. There has been anadditional 4.5 per cent growthbetween 2012 and 2013 in Turkey,according to Eurocontrol. Since 2004there has been a 172.9 per cent rise inthe number of business jetsoperating in Turkey.

As can be seen from the graphbelow, provided by WingX, while thenumber of business aviationdepartures in most of Europe hasremained stagnant or worsened sincethe recession, Turkey has had netgrowth of 3.1 per cent, higher thanany other European nation.

Turkey occupies a highly strategicposition, acting as a bridge betweenthe Middle East, Africa and Europe.Indeed its major city Istanbulstraddles the continents of Europeand Asia, and the city pair routebetween Istanbul and Izmir is thesecond busiest in Europe. With thesepromising figures in mind, EBANspoke to a number of Turkishoperators to see if the numbers reallydo add up.

Panjet, formerly trading as PanAviation, has held an AOC in Turkeysince 2003 and from May 2012onwards it has owned and operated aCitation Bravo. With companyheadquarters located in Ankara, it hasits own hangar and runs commercialbusiness, corporate and charterflights to and from Turkey, withcommon routes taking in Russia,Ukraine, Iraq and other neighbouringregions. The Bravo can accommodateup to four passengers for a distance of 1,300nm. Director of groundoperations Mehmet Yilmaz says thatthe light jet is in very good conditionand has been well-maintained sincethe beginning. In addition, he waskeen to praise his ‘widelyexperienced’ staff.

Redstar has previously operatedhelicopters but is now focusing onfixed wing operations with itsJetstream 32, which it has used toperform air ambulance flights. “Wefeel we have been doing a very goodjob and we have increased our flightsby 30 per cent when compared to theprevious year,” says projectdepartment manager Emre Dursun.“We have been developingrelationships with some of the

Despite encouraging growthprojections for Turkey, Dursunpredicts that the boom has almostreached its saturation point: “If youreally look into the figures, you willsee that the growth is coming to thispoint. If you have a population of 75million in Turkey and are justintroducing them to all thepossibilities of business aviation, youwill have a growth in the number of

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passengers but this should notnecessarily be interpreted as growthas such. Of course there’s a growth innumbers, but when you look andanalyse it in detail, you have to seethat it will be interpreted as coming toa normal level.

“We will see if there really is growthin Turkey after two or three years,when the market comes to a stagewhere we will be able to make a betterjudgement.”

A significant increase in aircraftnumbers is necessary to facilitate truegrowth, according to Dursun: “Out ofthe 50 helicopters, 20 are used by theMinistry of Health, so if you deductthem you end up with 30 helicopters.This is almost nothing for somewherewith a geography like Turkey’s,” heconcludes.

MNG Jet is based at Ataturkairport, Istanbul, and claims that itsbusiness jets account for eight percent of the Turkish market. It wasofficially founded in 2008 with one jet, and has increased its fleet tonine, including a Challenger 601, anXLS, a new Global 5000 and twoHawker 800XP. It also has aChallenger 300 and Challenger 850,and general manager Ugur Kalkanremarks that this fleet composition istypically ‘Turkish.’

Since 2009 the operator hasContinued on next page

MNG Jet general manager Ugur Kalkanspoke with optimism about Turkey’sgrowth prospects at the EBAA regionalforum in Istanbul.


Swan Aviation is branching out into Kazakhstan, under the leadership of chairman Mehmet Yuksel Hocaoglu (second from right),Mustafa Gungordu, Gurcan Dogru and Meric Gokhan Hocaoglu.

“Sea-planeoperations and

helicopteroperations are still

very immature”

This graph from WingX is a pertinent illustration of the way Turkey has rallied whileother nations have been stuck in the economic mire. The region now has 3.1 per centmarket share and growth 2008-2012 has exceeded 70 per cent. Only the Ukrainecomes close to this figure in the same period.


been popular over the last two orthree years.

“More Turkish businessmen arediscovering the value of their time,but the other real value is the privacy.Turkish businessmen want to beprivate, they don’t want to displaythemselves in terminals.”

There has been an increase intraffic in major cities like Ankara,Antalya and Izmir, in addition toIstanbul. Airports can be difficult toaccess though. Kalkan says that, onaverage, Turkish businessmen aremaking four flights a week – twobusiness round trips. He doesn’t seesee this increasing, as people won’t beflying every day. “My expectationthough is that the number of businessjets will increase, so we will have acapacity increase and the number offlights will also increase.”

Aircraft size in Turkey is anotherinteresting aspect to the market.Kalkan asserts that small size aircraftowners are replacing with mid-sizemodels, the mid-size fleet is nowgetting super mid-size, and there ismore activity with large aircraft.

He outlines the projections andgoals for the coming years: “Thetarget of the Turkish government is tobecome the top maintenance andaviation training country before 2023.This will be the 100th anniversary ofthe Turkish republic.”

Kalkan feels that the authoritiesare giving support to operators in thecountry: “We cannot say theauthorities are not helping us. If youwant to import an aircraft to Turkey,there is no tax for the import. If yousell an aircraft, there is no VAT at 18per cent, you are exempted. If you areflying out of Turkey the fuel is alsoexempt from taxes.

“We have been operating fromAtaturk airport for three years and lastyear we had 800 departures. Of courseyou need to co-ordinate the slot times24 hours before your departure,which is difficult. But we aresurviving, and there is a plan to makea dedicated business airport, but theyasked us to be patient.

“There is certainly enoughinfrastructure, with a business jetgrowth rate of 173 per cent since2004. The Istanbul traffic growth inthe last four years was 30 per cent. Wewould like it to be better but we havelearnt to live with these inherentproblems, and we are still operating.”

He also lays out the plans for MNG

“As a helicopteroperator ... we arestill struggling to

build infrastructureto capture the

growth in Turkey”

PrivateFly expands itsGerman wingPrivateFly has added SebastianBuchholz to its 24-hour German-speaking flight team, along withexisting team member DavidePaladino. Buchholz is a passionateprivate pilot.

Rachel Bennett has joinedPrivateFly’s digital marketing team,in order to develop its Germanweb site content. Ceo AdamTwidell says: “PrivateFly’scombination of innovativetechnology with an expert teamhas a great deal to offer today’sGerman private jet customer.”

Accreditation and taxationon the BACA agenda BACA is to hold its next trainingsession at the Baltic Exchange inLondon on 26 November. Topicsfor discussion will include whetherthere should be an accreditationsystem for charter brokers, how theTour Operators Margin Scheme(TOMS) will affect charter flights,along with a debate over theconsistency of treatment charterpassengers receive from the UKBorder Agency.

Speaking at the event will beBACA chairman Tony Coe and ceoof BBGA Marc Bailey. To book aplace, visit the BACA website orcontact marketing executiveMarkham Jackson [email protected].

ACS promotes HannaAir Charter Service has announcedthe promotion of Elie Hanna todirector of private jets at its Dubaioffice. “Elie is a prime example ofthe kind of dedicated andpassionate person we want at ACS,”remarks deputy md Justin Bowman.“Over the past few years he has builton his existing industry reputationas a knowledgeable and service-oriented professional anddeveloped into an exemplarycandidate for a directorial role.”

The broker has revealed that

enquiries are already being receivedfor flights to and within Brazil forthe World Cup next summer.Commercial jets director MattPurton says: “The competition willhave matches in 12 different cities,with distances of up to 3,000kilometres to contend with. That’s along coach ride! Chartering aircraftis often the most sensible way totravel from one match to the next.

“Our local office in São Paulo willhelp us coordinate everything onthe ground when the tournamentkicks off.”

Kevelair seeks to branchout in AfricaHaving organised a number ofcharters from south America to theMiddle East in September andOctober, Kevelair is now turning itsattention to Africa. Commercialmanager Fabrice Mandon says:“Since March, requests have beencoming, mainly from the easternpart of Africa, for several types offlight. These might be oil workersflying to their base, or incentiveand business aviation forcompanies choosing a quicker wayto reach their destination.

“Kevelair’s goal is to grow intothis market, which is from our pointof view the second fastest one aftersouth and central America.”

LunaJets maintainspromising growthLunaJets of Switzerland has seen adouble digit growth in 2013, withmore than 1,200 flights organisedthis year. Ceo Eymeric Segardremarks: “2013 has been anincredible year so far. With our newoffice, we will be able to keep upthe high level of service quality andflexibility that LunaJets isacknowledged for among itsEuropean clients.”

RS add Lyritis to the teamGerman broker RS Flight Servicehas appointed Michael Lyritis as anew regional manager. He will bebased in Greece and brings morethan 20 years of experience intravel and tourism.

Smart strikes a chord withmusiciansSmart Aviation has secured severalpan-European music tours of late.Sales director Matthew Savagecomments: “Organising a majortour with tight deadlines isn’t forthe faint-hearted. Smart’s teamhave over 100 years combinedexperience in airline operationsand this has seen us secure newmusic industry clients who trust uswith their charter arrangements.”

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over the next 12 months: “Next yearwe will add at least four or five aircraftto our fleet. I also anticipate that therewill be growth for traffic betweenEurope and Turkey.”

Swan Aviation has added twoFalcon 2000S in the last 12 monthsand has also started a company inKazakhstan, now called Swan AviationLLP. In addition, it is on the verge ofacquiring one helicopter and oneturboprop for EMS operations, withchairman Mehmet Yüksel Hocaoglurevealing that this will surely takeplace by the end of the year.

“The Falcons have beenperforming really well, I cannotcomplain. They are very reliableaircraft, and we have no issues.Customers are happy with theirperformance,” comments Hocaoglu.

“The helicopter we have is a vvipSikorsky S76C++, so it’s just forprivately flying the owner. We charterit once in a while but he is occupyinghours most of the time, so we rarelycharter it. The one coming will be adedicated helicopter for EMS ops.”

Hocaoglu says that every flight isan unusual one but he does pick out aparticularly notable scenario: “We didone flight out of Moscow where therewas an icing issue, but the crewmanaged it and it was ok. It was rightafter takeoff: one of the slots on oneside of the aircraft didn’t roll up, andthey had to return back with the slotsdown to Moscow airport. There was ahuge chunk of ice piled up.”

The crew were able to resolve theissue: “They landed back at theairport and other than thateverything was pretty much normal.In that instance the crew justmanaged what they are trained for. Apilot is trained for it and should beable to do this, it’s what you expect.It’s just an exception because you dosomething that you don’t normallydo. We usually have straightforwardflights with nothing exceptional!”

Swan Aviation is optimistic aboutthe future of the business aviationmarket in Turkey: “The potential forTurkey is very positive. The truefigures are not quite as high as peoplehave told us, and let’s be honest andsay not everything is rosy. But it willexpand,” adds Hocaoglu. Henonetheless warns of the limitations:‘If you are operating a helicopter inTurkey, there are a very limitednumber of helipads and heliports. Allthe other areas are uncontrolledlanding zones. Especially formedevac operations, you have to usewhat is available to you. There is asick person and you have to get themout of there.

“A couple of years ago I had an

Skyline has seen its fair share of improvised scenarios, including forced helicopter landings on soccer fields. Vp of Skyline GroupCandas Erkan Ozdogu (second from right) is seen here with general manager of Skyline Transportation captain Adnan Koc, generalmanager of Skyline training Onur Baylan, and director of sales Onur Sakallioglu.

Major business aviation airports*

1. Istanbul Ataturk LTBA IST2. Ankara Esenboga LTAC ESB3. Istanbul Sabiha

Gokcen International LTFJ SAW4. Antalya LTAI AYT5. Izmir Adnan Menderes LTBJ ADB

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

Leading fixed-wing charter operators**

1. TK JET by Tarkim Aviation2. Swan Aviation3. Setair4. Palmali Air5. BonAir Havacilik

Leading helicopter charter operators**

1. Kocoglu Aviation/Sky Line2. Guneydogu Havacilik Isletmesi3. THK Gokcen Aviation4. Sancak Air5. Kaan Air

** ranked by number of aircraft for charter

Leading maintenance companies***

1. Sky Line2. Emair Aviation3. Top Servis Havacilik4. Genel Havacilik/General Aviation Center5. MNG Jet Maintenance

Leading TRTO training companies***

1. Sancak Air2. Sky Line

*** ranked by number of aircraft types covered

Data extracted from the Handbook of Business Aviation,

and the EBAN reader roster.

Business aviationin Turkey by the numbers

54 business aviation airports

80 business charter operators

TC 250 business aircraft onthe Turkish register

16 business aircraftmaintenance organisations


enjoyed stable growth. According toKalkan, the Turkish economy hasseveral main drivers, notablyconstruction, automotive productionand tourism. In terms ofconstruction, Kalkan counts 80countries that Turkey is now winningcontracts from, mainly in Russia’ssurrounding regions. He says thatdespite the strength of the Turkishautomotive sector, car manufacturersare not yet using his services. Hereports an annual growth of six percent in the last few years.

“The Turkish government has hadseveral flights on business jets withTurkish businessmen to raise theprofile of our industry. The main areais the Middle East, and Africa has

Continued from previous page



operation to my home town, andthere was no place to land so we hadto land in the middle of a stadium.They said the stadium was going to beavailable. It was empty when welanded, but 30 minutes later a bunchof soccer players came in. They didn’tunderstand that to relocate thehelicopter costs money, andsomebody has to pay for it. I got theapproval before but they didn’t let usstay there.”

Hocaoglu believes that certainaspects of Turkish aviation are stillvery much in their infancy: “Sea-plane operations and helicopteroperations are still very immature –they are new, in fact. But since there issuch a demand, there is no chance ofanything but improvement.

“Years ago, when helicopteroperations started in England and inthe US, I don’t think that things wereany different. The problem here is,now we already know theirexperiences, we should adapt faster.We shouldn’t wait another 50 years.

“There are good intentions and Ithink it will happen very shortly,because things are changingtremendously here.”

Skyline says that it has been thepioneer for the EMS business inTurkey. In 2008 the group wasawarded a five-year turnkey contractwith the Ministry of Health. Includingits flight school it has flown 35,000flight hours and believes it has saved17,000 lives. As such, official EMSservices were carried out for the firsttime using 19 helicopters across theregion. This contract concluded inAugust 2013, and since that time thegroup has been reshaped.

At the height of its operationSkyline had a combination of 31 jetsand helicopters on its AOC. Sixhelicopters have been sold since theend of the Ministry contract, andcurrently there are 25 aircraft underits AOC.

Candaş Erkan Özdoğu, vp of theSkyline group of companies, explainsthe difficulty the company had inestablishing a fledgling HEMSoperation: “We had to set up a 19-helicopter operation in 15 differentcities of Turkey in less than 12 months,and this was in a country wherehelicopters were almost non-existent.The number of civilian helicopters

flying in Turkey was less than 30 andthe total number of approvedheliports was only 20, and this for acountry twice the size of Germany!”

The operator was able to take freshstaff on board and manage the job athand, so that soon Skyline was notonly operating its 19 helicopters andtwo business jets for ambulanceservices, it became a trustedmanagement company for ten otheraircraft owners. It is now an authorisedmaintenance facility of Bell, Agusta,Eurocopter, Pratt and Whitney Canadaand Beechcraft in Turkey.

Captain Adnan Koc adds: “Foryears we performed thousands ofmissions across all parts of Turkey,sometimes not being able to find alanding strip even in a relatively largevillage where almost 300 missionshave been carried out. We would lookfor soccer fields for a safe landing.

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“Some problems persist in Turkeyfor helicopter activities to growhealthily, although the number ofapproved heliports has now reachedover 60. More importantly, theauthorities are aware of the needsand everyone expects a faster

improvement. This will yield asignificant increase in the number ofcivilian helicopters to be used byexecutives in Turkey.”

It seems that despite theoptimism, there are still many areaswhich require improvement if Turkeyis to thrive as a major force. EBANspoke to one operator at the EBAAforum in Istanbul who was less thanimpressed with the state of affairs inTurkey. This representative, whowishes to remain anonymous, saidthat regulations and the governmentare extremely challenging, and that inreality his company cannot fly out ofIstanbul airport: “It’s basically closedbecause of the slots issue. If you wantto go to Sabiha Gokcen they have noparking space. If I have an additionalaircraft in my fleet now and want tobase it in Sabiha, I can no longer do it.

MNG Jet’s technical and operations team pictured in front of the MNG hangar at Istanbul Ataturk airport.

There appears to be somecontinuing resistance to businessaviation in the country: “They don’twant you to base your aircraft therebecause you are occupying the airtraffic. A business aircraft occupiesthe same airspace as a large aircraft.Then, once you land, you pay to thelocal airport operators, which arenow private, just a tiny bit of moneycompared to a huge amount ofmoney that the large airline pays, sothey don’t want you there. They wantmore airlines.

“One airport is actually ruled byfour or five different governmententities, and just to get an FBO youhave to go through four differentorganisations, which is impossiblenow. By today’s Turkish law youcannot have an FBO in Turkey, simpleas that, done deal. It’s not even that itis a monopoly, it is simply thecomplex procedures. Communismstopped 15 years ago and we are stillcommunist in this sense!”

The operator summed up bypointing out that no representativefrom the Turkish government turnedup when they were due to speak at theEBAA forum, and that this speaksvolumes for the attitude of theauthorities in the region. ■

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This is notice of the launch of a competitive tender for the award of two licenses covering theprovision of aircraft hangar with adjoining premises on the Nice Airport – Côte d’ Azur.

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AEROPORTS DE LA COTE D’AZURB.U. Aviation GénéraleProcédure de mise en concurrence « Hangar 5 » Rue Costes et Bellonte BP 333106206 Nice Cedex 3

The tender documents will be sent to each candidate by December 11, 2013.A site visit will be offered to candidates no later than December 18, 2013.

Notice of Competitive TenderNice Côte d’Azur International Airport

EBAA ceo Fabio Gamba has describedTurkey as an economic powerhouse thatcan still capitalise fully on the efficiencyof business aviation.

The 2013/14 Handbook of BusinessAviation, Europe, Russia, MiddleEast and Africa edition, waspublished in May, and gives detailsof many more Turkish charteroperators. It also lists businessaviation facilities and servicesincluding airports, FBOs andmaintenance centres.

The details can be accessedonline through a search of aircraftoperated or the airport bases. Formore information please visitwww.handbook.aero

Comprehensive data for Turkeyonline free-of-charge


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