Issue - European Business Air News

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Page 10 28/8/08 2:35 pm Page 10 10 SEPTEMBER 2008 EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS Relentless rescue work promised by Grob ceo after insolvency Continued from page 1 organised the delivery of two aircraft in mid-2009; Prestige Jet of Abu Dhabi, which lined up two spns for the end of this year; and ZAS Z-Aviation which wanted two aircraft in 2009. But Grob says: “Customers with a bank guarantee will get the full deposit refund should it come to it.” The spn must overcome financial problems. Photo: Anthony Quayle. Olver maintains the position of ceo of both ExecuJet Aviation Group and that of Grob Aerospace. He says: “Whilst ExecuJet enjoys a close working association with Grob Aerospace, the two companies are totally separate, and thus the insolvency of Grob Aerospace has no direct bearing on ExecuJet. But it is important that the business aviation industry and our customers and suppliers remain assured in the knowledge that this unfortunate situation has no affect on the ongoing viability of the ExecuJet Aviation Group, and on that of the company’s global aircraft sales and services business units.” He adds: “Whilst ExecuJet anticipates that spn sales and support will materially contribute to the company’s long term business performance, even before considering the contribution of the spn, the group can confidently forecast a profitable future for ExecuJet as a global business aviation force, and the sales representation relationship in 33 countries. “The ExecuJet Aviation Group is, and remains the exclusive sales distributor of Grob Aerospace’s spn light jet, and furthermore shall support the aircraft in many regions of the world. The spn remains an extremely promising product in ExecuJet’s portfolio, as borne out by the significant customer demand, enjoyed to date. ExecuJet shall do all in its legitimate power to support both Grob Aerospace, and our mutual customers, over this trying time.” The spn program suffered in November 2006 when one of its two flying prototypes was destroyed during a demonstration flight crash near the company factory in Tussenhausen- Mattsies, Germany, and the then chief spn test pilot Gerard Guillaumaud died. Grob says that the effects of the latest spn program delays became apparent only recently. “The staff in Mattsies were informed promptly by Niall Olver and the German mds. We hope that this situation will be resolved within the next few weeks since Mr. Olver already has received some interest from possible investors.” Olver says: “This unfortunate situation has arisen as a consequence of recent delays in the spn program, resulting in the increased requirement for cash to see the program through to certification. Under the circumstances, our current loan provider has elected to discontinue their support. “In order to resolve the situation all possible alternatives are being evaluated. Given the significant support we have enjoyed to date, I remain confident that this disruption can be overcome.” Get in. Take off. Business. You are looking for fl exibility and want to save time? Business aviation is your answer. It’s the mode of transportation which gets business people to that important appointment – Safe, Flexible, Direct, anywhere within Europe. Stuttgarter Flugdienst GmbH General Aviation Airport Stuttgart D -70629 Stuttgart Tel. +49 (0)711-9 90 50-96 Fax +49 (0)711-9 90 50-98 www.stuttgarterfl ugdienst.de eban_2008.indd 1 28.02.2008 20:17:42 Uhr Rizon Jet is ready for expansion. Pictured from left to right are: Capt. William Curtis ceo; Capt. Noor Qureshi; Joanne McDine, director of cabin services; Capt. Shawn Sims; and Capt. Gregoire Marchand, group director of operations. Rizon Jet plans Gulf-wide coverage to complement charter operations Rizon Jet is setting up aircraft maintenance facilities in a number of locations in the Gulf region and will offer a full aircraft management and maintenance service to complement its core fleet. “We see aircraft maintenance as a growth market in the Gulf as there are insufficient existing facilities,” says ceo William Curtis. “Many Gulf operators take their aircraft to Europe for maintenance inputs.” This will complement its new Biggin Hill development which will feature a 13,000 sq. m. maintenance hangar and FBO facility. (See story on page 1). “We expect the facility to be fully operational by September 2009 and will begin recruiting and training staff late this year” says Curtis. “We aim to offer full EASA 145 maintenance facilities along with aircraft management packages and charter services pursuant to a U.K. AOC. We will also offer a ‘high end’ FBO service. We see the need for a service which will meet the expectations of clients from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region who expect associated services such as helicopter links, prestige car rental and limousine services of the highest order. We aim to provide all these services in house. We expect to develop a London client base quickly as many mainstream charter brokers are already flying their clients with us in the Gulf region and the UK business jet fleet is continuing to expand.” Rizon also intends to add An artist's impression of the Biggin Hill development. an aircraft catering facility. “Halal compliant catering will be offered as standard,” he says. The company began operations in April 2007 and says it has increased sales to in excess of $10 million annually. Curtis says: “Sales are growing month on month and we expect them to top $50 million in 2009.” The expansion follows new ownership. In December 2007 the company was wholly acquired by Qatari national, Ghanim Bin Saad Al Saad who is also chairman of the Barwa International property development firm and of Qatari DIYAR, the property investment arm of the Qatari Investment Group. Curtis says: “We try for new aircraft wherever possible. However all the desirable models are back-ordered so we have to supplement in the short term with used aircraft and there is not much that represents good value right now. A five-year-old Challenger 604 will often sell for more than its new cost – not a good investment for us in the long run. It is, we believe, preferable to pay a premium for a new aircraft given that one normally carries the substantial cost of the deposit schedule anyway and in purchasing a new aircraft one at least has the benefit of the warranties and the first five years of subsidised support programmes plus the customer appeal of a new airframe and the latest interior amenities.” Rizon Jet has two Premier 1As and a Hawker 900XP already in service. A second Hawker 900XP is scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2009. Two Challenger 605s are expected in the first and last quarter of 2009 and a G-5000 follows in the last quarter of 2010. “We are acquiring two further Challenger 604/5s late this year.” says Curtis, “and we are about to order or acquire further aircraft for the U.K. although we are still evaluating our options in this regard. Rizon Jet also offers broking services to our clients where our own fleet is unavailable or unsuitable for their mission.” Curtis says the start-up Premier 1A, although a surprisingly good aircraft, has a too limited size and payload range for Rizon’s remit and will be phased out. “We have chosen Hawker 900XP and Challenger 605 for their reliability. We fly into Africa, India, Asia, China and the former USSR where support is sparse. These newer designs, have the benefit of being good in terms of dispatch reliability and ‘get you home performance.”
Page 10 28/8/08 2:51 pm Page 11 EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS The Private Jet Company is building a sizeable managed fleet and putting the finishing touches to the design of a new FBO on the Isle of Man. Tony Corlett, MD, says: “Our rapid growth means that we have outgrown our current business and hangarage premises and therefore we are planning to build a new state of the art private aviation facility. This will provide our clients with a first-class facility that is currently not available on the Isle of Man.” The Private Jet Company, formed to accommodate customer requests for turnkey aircraft management, has several new aircraft on order for clients which will be managed for the clients by the company. Corlett says: “We delivered a new CJ3 for a European client in April and recently acquired a Citation XLS 560 for a local client. In addition we are taking delivery of a Citation Sovereign in February 2009, and we are also The Private Jet Company registered the first two aircraft on the IoM M-Register’. purchasing a Challenger 300 for a European client. We will also be managing that Challenger 300 remotely for our European client.” The company anticipates operating a fleet of up to seven managed aircraft within two years. On average the aircraft fly approximately 400 hours per year, with each client using approximately 200 hours per year. Owners, Corlett says, use their aircraft for both business and pleasure. Driving factors in the choice of aircraft include a comfortable cabin, a good range and high performance. “We now have trained engineers based on the island so maintenance is not such an issue,” Corlett adds. “We intend to increase the quality of our ground based services for handling our clientele and are currently finalising plans for a new private aviation facility that will commence development later this year. The company is organised so that they just tell our operations what time they would like to depart and to where, everything else is looked after under our management agreement.” There will be job vacancies available from early next year to accommodate the increase in managed aircraft, including an XLS pilot and Sovereign pilot, both based in the Isle of Man and a Challenger 300 pilot based in Europe. Capt. Corlett has British, American SEPTEMBER 2008 11 Private Jet Company takes Isle of Man to new business aviation heights Bond adds three EC225s to North Sea fleet Bond Offshore Helicopters is introducing three latest technology EC225s to its fleet. Bill Munro, md, says: “With their enhanced specification, range and operational efficiency, the EC225s are particularly suited to long range flights servicing BP’s activities east and west of Shetland. The capability to fly direct from Aberdeen, with no need to refuel en route, avoids potential delays if, for example, Shetland is fog-bound.” The new aircraft will bring Bond Offshore Helicopters fleet of Super Pumas to ten. The three EC225s are on crew change contracts, as are five Super Puma AS332L Mark IIs, with two specially-modified AS332L Mark IIs dedicated to air-sea rescue. With a fleet increasing to ten, Bond Offshore Helicopters’ aircraft include Super Puma AS332L Mark IIs and the latest additions, three EC225s. Munro says the acquisition of the EC225s is part of a continuing investment programme in support of new contracts worth almost £240 million which also includes staff and facilities. The contracts include two new clients, ConocoPhillips (U.K.) and Maersk Contractors U.K., and an amendment to an existing contract with BP Exploration. From earlier this month, Bond is operating two of the new EC225 aircraft on crew change flights for BP in the North Sea and west of Shetland. Bond will operate a third EC225 under a five-year contract with ConocoPhillips for services in the central North Sea. Two Super Puma AS332L Mark IIs, released from contract with BP, will be used in support of various clients, including Maersk Contractors U.K., on behalf of North Sea Production Company, for which Bond began operating in June under a five-year contract servicing the McCulloch Field. Munro says: “The addition of new clients reinforces the current expansion of our fleet, staff and base facilities as part of our strategy to expand operations in the U.K. and overseas.” and European Airline transport licences and also holds Bermudian and Isle of Man certificates of validation. But he was born on the Isle of Man and was active in helping form the Isle of Man register. “There are now over 70 aircraft on the M-registration. Overall it has been a huge success, and it will continue to grow.” When the register’s doors opened for business on 1 May 2007, the Private Jet Company registered two jets and Corlett completed the first flight in a Manx registered aircraft. The company’s core business includes aircraft sales and purchase, worldwide aircraft delivery and ferry flights, de-registration and registration, aircraft management, operations and crewing, hangarage, aircraft handling, technical documentation and maintenance. The Isle of Man airport has separate plans for an executive jet facility (EBAN October 2007).
Page 1 and 2: Page 01 28/8/08 4:26 pm Page 1 EURO
Page 3 and 4: Page 03 28/8/08 3:35 pm Page 3 EURO
Page 5 and 6: Page 04-05 28/8/08 3:25 pm Page 5 E
Page 7 and 8: Project1 21/8/08 9:22 am Page 1 To
Page 9: Page 08-09 28/8/08 5:39 pm Page 9 E
Page 13 and 14: Page 12-13 28/8/08 3:43 pm Page 13
Page 15 and 16: Page 14-15 28/8/08 4:08 pm Page 15

Issue - European Business Air News

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?