MARKET REPORT - Saab Aircraft Leasing

MARKET REPORT“ It’s a grand aircraft.It’s fast, comfortableand quiet. But morethan that, it’s reliable.”—Oil worker embarking a Saab 2000 fl ight at Aberdeenairline. We got a call at 6:30am, and we were providing service by 11am.It is testament to the capabilities of the team that we achieved that, andit is certainly in the interests of the company to respond at speed to thecustomer requirement. We have always tried to be very responsive, andwe focused on our priorities of supporting business.”Eastern Airways has experienced significant growth since it started12 years ago with one route from Humberside to Aberdeen and oneaircraft flying it. Built up primarily by serving businesses including theNorth Sea oil and gas industry, the network has developed across thecountry by using smaller regional aircraft on routes other airlines withlarger capacity fleets avoided.Charter contracts alone have already seen more than 1,400 flights madesince December. It is a perfect example of the company’s positioning inthe aviation industry.“We are not trying to be a low-cost airline that crams people in. Weare very focused on a high standard of service, day return frequencies,and we want to make our fl ights as enjoyable as possible. That is theunderlying philosophy. A lot of passengers fly with us every week orevery other week. It is part of their lives and if we don’t get it right, itwould have serious consequences for them. This is why we have such afocus on being on time,” adds Holliday.Eastern Airways now has 29 aircraft flying on a domestic and internationalscheduled network serving key business centers from 17 airports,as well as substantial charter activity.MARKET REPORT | October 20095