European Business Air News April 2012

E U R O P E A N

BUSINESS AIR NEWS ISSUE 224

APRIL 2012

Crucial year ahead as EBAA pledges to monitor FBO standards

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Second Encore keeps Hesnes strategy on course

Hesnes Air’s managing director Pia Harneshaug and marketing and sales manager Sissel Kirkvaag now have a second Citation Encore based at Gardermoen airport. The Norwegian operator has a mixed fleet of business jets, turboprops and helicopters. See full story on page 6.

Business aviation faces many challenges, and with a host of new EU legislation and more to come, now is the time to be proactive. This was the message delivered during the European Business Aviation Association’s annual general meeting recently.

Chief executive Fabio Gamba urged European decision-makers to recognise the particular circumstances of aviation. Business aviation in particular is trying to make a healthy recovery after the difficult years following the worldwide economic crisis.

It does so, however, in the face of new political hurdles and rising operating costs.

These include a worrying proliferation of national taxes, a burdensome EU ETS, a faulty Single European Sky due to the lack of member states’ political will, a recast of the slots regulation that deprives business aviation of historical rights under its current form, and other important initiatives in domains such as ground handling, noise, and community guidelines on state aid at regional airports, he says.

“We may be facing headwinds, but that means we must push harder against them. We must demonstrate the significance of our industry,” says Gamba.

One initiative is the creation of an International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH). It is mirrored on the IS-BAO operations equivalent, which is a recognised European standard and has over 500

operators registered globally as being in compliance. “The EU’s Ground Handling Regulation recast did not include airports of less than two million passengers, which is primarily the types of airport from which business aviation operates. Therefore we have anticipated the needs of our industry and developed up-todate standards that are also aligned with the regulations,” explains Brian Humphries, EBAA president.

“We will conduct our own quality and safety assessments of FBOs and ground handling against this standard, enhancing both safety and the customer experience to the benefit of all.”

Fabio Gamba calls for a strong will in the face of political challenges.

Another important initiative includes business aviation's campaign to curtail illegal charter flight activity within Europe.

“Twenty-twelve is a pivotal year for our industry. There are many tough choices to make and challenges to face,” Gamba concludes.

VistaJet’s world view includes aircraft based in Beijing VistaJet has signed a historic agreement with Beijing Airlines, the private aviation subsidiary of Air China, that it hopes will lead to a longterm partnership.

The memorandum of understanding will investigate joint marketing, sales and operational opportunities, and will see VistaJet establishing a formal presence in China with a base in Beijing and eventually operating

OLYMPICS & EURO 2012 PREVIEWS Pages 7- 12

point-to-point within China.

The MoU follows a significant increase in demand from Chinese entrepreneurs and businesses who have flown VistaJet internationally for the company to base aircraft within China.

Thomas Flohr, chairman, says: “We have been targeting China as a major market for expansion and our new partnership with Beijing

Airlines will allow us to rapidly build a presence in this very fast growing market.”

“As an entrepreneur, you cannot afford to spend up to three days flying commercially between Harbin and Khartoum. Nor are you going to want to fly on some of the airlines that will get you there.

“With our modern longhaul fleet, we are directly connecting locations such as east Asia with east Africa in

up to a third of the time, and in style.”

A future long-term partnership agreement could see VistaJet increase the number of aircraft available to service the Chinese market including locating a number of aircraft in the country, drawn from the company’s large order backlog.

As part of its strategic expansion programme, VistaJet has identified

priorities for further regional investment during 2012 including Russia, where VistaJet has established a major presence, and Africa.

Flohr concludes: “The agreement we have announced gives us a major platform to establish a leading presence on the ground and I look forward soon to declaring VistaJet as China’s preferred luxury aviation company.”

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EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

APRIL 2012 3

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Paul Cremer believes that unrestricted access to the US will bring benefits to Gama’s customers.

Gama joins the Part 129 club to ease passage to US Gama Aviation has been awarded FAA Part 129 accreditation by the US Department of Transport, allowing it to operate unrestricted commercial flights between Europe and the United States.

Previously under its US375 approval Gama could only operate 12 charter flights per annum into the US from Europe. “The US375 was already an advantage over a number of our competitors who

were and still are applying individually to the US DoT with a seven-day lead time,” says commercial manager Paul Cremer.

“Part 129 gives us unlimited access for charters to the US from the EU, with no lead time and just a single form to complete.”

Gama has become the eighth UK business jet operator to achieve the accreditation, and has not yet performed a Part 129 flight. “It’s early

BackBone’s helicopter chief pilot Soeren Thor Joergensen prepares to take the EC120 on duty.

“The ice is monitored by satellite from the north eastern part of Greenland, from where it travels down the coastline, and proceeds past Cape Farewell, one of the most dangerous waters in the world, along the western coast of Greenland, before it breaks off and settles on the north western shore of Greenland and the eastern shore of Canada,” says managing director and pilot Nicolas Webèr.

“We will fly with a Eurocopter EC120, and normally it will be a pilot and an ice navigator, who will make up the ice reports that are transmitted

to ships and put on the internet.”

BackBone has taken over Bel Air Aviation’s onshore helicopter operations, including a Hughes 300 and the EC120 helicopter. They will be used for ad-hoc assignments, mostly to transport urgently needed cargo and parcels as well as normal scenic tours and events. The company expects to obtain its own AOC in the first half of 2012.

BackBone is also offering a mobile heliport, which is mainly used during night-time. “It is deployed with our fire truck, which is the power source for the lighting system,” says Webèr.

“We have been deployed to support events such as large concerts and festivals, but could be deployed to support rescue services in case of a mass casualty accident. It would be possible to maintain a 24-hour heliport on site.”

Plans are also in hand for increasing the fixed wing fleet up to three Dornier Do228s. These will be used for a wide variety of tasks, but most likely for passenger services during the day and cargo at night. Ad hoc charter will also be offered.

“Backbone evolved from a desire to fly below the radar, so to speak. A true desire to fly ‘off road’ and not to just queue up on the airways like everybody else. And also with a strong pioneering feeling, which is the primary reason for choosing the Do228. A more agile utility airplane is hard to come across,” says Webèr.

Tasks such as transporting equipment during Arctic events or desert events are opportunities the company will look for, as well as supporting customers in remote places with limited access.

for commercial operators, and it means that we can offer a heightened service to our customers, ensuring that whether they are booking a flight with Gama in the US or Gama in Europe, they will benefit from consistently high standards, privacy, discretion and hassle-free travel arrangements, wherever their business or leisure activities may take them,” Cremer adds.

K5 extends boundaries of ACJ operations with 120 approval

Newcomer BackBone is selected for ice monitoring duties in Greenland Recently established operator BackBone Aviation has been chosen to provide helicopter services to the Danish meteorological services centre for ocean and ice (DMI) in the southern part of Greenland, starting in April.

The company, which was established during 2011, will provide helicopters for ice reconnaissance in Greenland’s Inner Straits in order for the DMI to provide safe passage of ships in this area. It is a round the year service, and is provided free of charge for local ships and cruise liners.

days, but I’m pleased to say that we have received a number of requests already,” says Cremer.

“I believe that the aircraft types likely to be used by our clients, US flights are the Gulfstream G550, Challenger 604, Falcon 2000 and the Hawker 1000 for those customers looking for a costeffective solution.

“Obtaining Part 129 status is one of the most challenging approvals

Falcon is a popular charter choice Jet Aviation has added a Falcon 2000 to its AOC after taking over its operations for a private owner late last year. The Geneva-based aircraft was used only privately in January, but since February multiple flights have been flown for charter customers. “The Falcon 2000 is a great addition to our fleet,” says Claudio Peer, vp of aircraft management and charter sales for EMEA and Asia (pictured). “It is ideal for short or mid-range flights, and offers our customers more options and flexibility.”

K5-Aviation of Germany received ETOPS 120 approval for its Airbus ACJ319 in March, only nine months after obtaining its commercial operating licence with ETOPS 90.

In recent months K5 has been certified for all weather operations including Cat IIIb approaches without decision height and RNAV approaches.

According to accountable manager Dr Ineke Goertz this rapid development has only been possible due to the experience of the K5 team in operating Airbus aircraft. “The ACJ319 presently operated under our AOC has been taken care of by the same people since it was delivered from Airbus in 2007,” explains Dr Goertz.

K5 is based near Munich and is actively looking for more ACJs to be operated under a European AOC.

“We offer aircraft management including CAMO services and crewing as well as operating aircraft for charter,” says flight operations manager Erik Scheidt.

The next target will be ETOPS 180 approval, for which the company needs to prove its reliability and performance for a further six months. Manuals and procedures are already approved. “We can now operate more direct, such as crossing the North Atlantic flying to Florida as we can fly further south.

ETOPS 180 will allow us to operate to Hawaii, for example.”

The first service was flown from Europe to Florida non-stop in 11 hours. Readers may have had the opportunity to see K5’s A319CJ when it was exhibited by Airbus at the EBACE show in Geneva in May 2011.

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To arrange a visit to the site or for any further details please contact Robert Walters, who will be pleased to answer any queries about the latest stage in Biggin Hill’s new business developments. business@bigginhillairport.com +44(0) 1959 578 530 bigginhillairport.com

Visit us at EBACE 2012 on stand number 372

London Biggin Hill Airport CLOSE TO THE HEART OF LONDON

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

4 APRIL 2012

Starspeed moves closer to London

GFS plans second Learjet for Biggin Hill fleet Following management changes last year, Biggin Hill-based Global Flight Solutions received its new AOC during January. Owner and director Milan Radman is now accountable manager, while Lee McConnell continues as chief pilot.

The company, which reports a busy start to the year, is in expansive mood and actively looking for more aircraft management opportunities.

It believes its Learjet 45, which has been on the fleet since the company’s inception in 2009, remains the newest Learjet in the UK, and has plans to be operating a second in the near future.

“It has been to many places, but the furthest is Beirut and the closest is Jersey,” says office manager Lauren Coetzee. “We have settled in very well at Biggin Hill (which became home base for GFS in 2010). Our customers can fly in via helicopter from London, and can walk straight onto the aircraft. Our facilities are at a very high standard of luxury and our vip room is perfect for those who want to relax a while before boarding the Learjet.”

Global Flight Solutions’ chief pilot Lee McConnell is looking forward to increasing the fleet size.

Helicopter operator Starspeed has made a major move by relocating from Blackbushe to Fairoaks airport, with newly refurbished offices and hangar.

“Fairoaks is ideally situated to the south west of London and provides reduced positioning time to the London heliport,” says managing director Richard Evans. “We have expanded and refurbished facilities here to provide an ideal environment to complement our training division, headquartered at Kemble airfield.”

The company operates a Sikorsky S76 with a charter fleet of Eurocopter twins including AS355, AS365, EC135, EC145 and EC155 models.

The EC155, it says, can fly from London heliport to a central Paris heliport, direct in one hour 15 minutes, and to Brussels and Amsterdam in slightly more. “A Eurostar train will take three hours and a private aircraft only slightly less than the train when accounting for the transfer time between city centre and airport at each end of the journey,” the company says.

Gulfstreams and Hawkers will remain central to growing MJET Austria’s MJET will be celebrating five years of operations this year, and says it is in advanced negotiations for the addition of brand new long and ultralong range jets to its fleet. “At this stage we can only say that at least two aircraft that are leaders in their range class will join our fleet this year,” says asset manager Dan Rusu.

“These new aircraft will reconfirm our strong position as central and eastern Europe and CIS business jet operation specialists. What is no less important is that we will most probably keep our fleet synergy and commonality, one of the key elements in successful aircraft operation, which is a direct benefit to our existing and future customers.”

The fleet currently comprises a Gulfstream V, two G450s and two G200s, two Hawker 900XPs, three Fokker ‘bizliners’ and three Fokker

100EJ executive jets. These are based mainly at airports in eastern Europe, reportedly due to high demand for large jets in this area. A midsize jet is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Nine aircraft are commercially operated under the MTS Austrian AOC. In addition, a large jet is in private management, including CAMO and flight support. “An advanced safety and quality management system (SQMS) is implemented for all aircraft, covering all core SMS elements,” says Rusu.

“Fleet synergy results first of all in an advanced knowledge of a specific aircraft type or class. This know-how and ability to offer turnkey solutions is highly appreciated by our customers.

Secondly, the fleet commonality is obviously one of the main cost optimisation tools in aircraft operation. Besides the ability of using

A V I A T I O N

same crew members on more than one aircraft, such as the GV/ G450/G550, it is also possible to share training instructors, licensed technicians and so on.

“Building solid relationships with suppliers and access to services at optimised costs is possible due to same reasons.

Training and maintenance are only two examples of type related cost optimisation opportunities. Getting an acceptable fleet synergy is not something easily achievable in business aviation, but mainly good reputation and experience in a certain market segment can attract customers with the same or similar aircraft types. After all, it’s a win-win situation,” he says.

Rusu maintains that quality was always more important for MJET than quantity and rapid growth. “Our main focus is on a highly customised

cost efficiency. Since its creation, our company’s development is based on continuous efforts of building solid relationships with our clients, based on integrity, real product knowledge and optimisation. This has proved to be a beneficial approach, because a mature market will not appreciate anything less than that.”

MJET reports that the proportion of round trips initiated in CIS countries, to or from Western Europe, is significantly higher. However, flights to Sakhalin, Thailand or South Africa are also quite common. Due to increased range performance of its F100EJs, which have 19-seats and additional fuel tanks, it is experiencing increasing demand for larger groups to both eastern (including far east) and western destinations. “It is truly an exclusive ‘bizliner’, which is in great demand.” says Rusu.

Icaro has Middle East in mind for Citation VII

A T T O R N E Y S

Business Jet Aviation Law

Italian air charter operator Icaro Aerotaxi is to acquire a Citation VII to supplement its fleet of smaller Citations. “We will catch another branch of the market due to its more comfortable cabin, faster speed, APU, separate toilet and greater endurance to reach the rich cities and markets like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and for customers that want a stand-up aircraft cabin,” says Capt Massimo Bernucci.

This is not a good time for air taxis in Italy, with the country facing big financial crises but Bernucci believes that the spring and summer will see an improvement. “The people that use private aircraft are still present,” he says.

“We will always continue to fly because one of our aircraft is a Citation II with 11 passenger seats – the only one in Europe – and we often fly for exhibitions all over Europe.

“At the end of the day the tariff with 10 or 11 passengers is like the business class of an airline. So we are optimistic for the future.”

Icaro has registered its fleet in Germany, citing the speed of response from the LBA authority as a key advantage.

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and complete management service package for demanding business jet owners, with the ability to place the aircraft on the charter market when needed or wanted. Intelligent growth management is part of our long-term strategy.”

He has been with the company since 2007, the year when it started offering flight support services. In the same year it received its operating license and AOC, followed by the arrival of the first jets.

But now he believes the market is changing: “If we talk about transition economies, we can clearly say that the aircraft management business is changing. It’s an obvious process – it’s getting mature. And it’s not only due to the economic downturn. It is evident that customers are more demanding than five or six years ago, especially when it comes to asset protection and

1/27/12 2:34 PM

Maria Johnsson Gross and Helmut Gross, co-owners at MTS Aviation.

MTS brings family values into aircraft management After a short delay while systems were upgraded, MTS Aviation of Sweden is expected to have received its first aircraft under management, a Learjet 60, in March this year.

MTS is a family-owned and operated FBO handling company at Malmö airport, and prides itself on making its customers feel at home.

“We would like to thank all our customers for showing confidence in our company and appreciating the advantage of our local position in Scandinavia,” says co-owner Helmut Gross. “Due to our skilled crew and the trust in our personalised customer care, we are taking over the management and operation of our client’s aircraft this year, starting in March.”

MTS says that its close vicinity to Copenhagen is a key advantage.

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

APRIL 2012 5

Twin Otter seaplane service suits Turkey’s coastal terrain Seabird Airlines of Istanbul, Turkey, has signed a multiaircraft deal along with an exclusive sales representative agreement covering Twin Otter series 400 aircraft sales in Turkey.

The package deal covers six aircraft configured with straight floats for water-based commercial operations, and the first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in 2014.

Turkey has a long coastline and poor road connections between coastal towns, so during summer months the Twin Otters will be put to use on scheduled services, as well as ad-hoc charter.

“Turkey is surrounded by three seas,” says founder and president Kursad Arusan, “so why has there been no such service before?”

Seabird has effectively been grounded for two years since its establishment in 2010 while going through the process of having legislation written into Turkish law for the operation of seaplanes. This was finally achieved last October, and the company has arranged for the ACMI lease of series 300 Twin Otters to start services ahead of the arrival of the 400s. Two aircraft are due to be in service shortly with a third arriving in June – all from Kenn Borek Air of Canada.

The leased aircraft are effectively zero-time, and flown by experienced pilots with Turkish first officers.

Although availability will be tight while there are only two aircraft, Arusan hopes to make five days a month available for ad-hoc charter. The company

will also carry out demonstration flights in support of aircraft sales, both civilian and military, in Egypt, Libya and Saudi Arabia.

During winter months the Twin Otters will be landbased, the conversion from floats to wheels or vice versa taking two engineers around half a day to achieve.

The 400 series Twin Otter features many modifications that improve safety and increase performance over the series 300, the most notable of which is the integration of the Honeywell Primus Apex avionics suite. Other changes include upgraded Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34 engines, use of composite materials, light weight interior, simplified electrical and LED lighting systems.

Rizon Jet inaugurated its vip terminal in Doha on March 11th, when HE Abdul Aziz bin Mohamed Al Noaimi (second left), chairman of Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, received a model of the Challenger 605 from Ghanim bin Saad Al Saad, the founder of Rizon’s parent organisation Ghanim bin Saad Al Saad & Sons Group Holding (GSSG). Ibrahim Fakhroo, group ceo of GSSG, Hassan Al-Mousawi, newly appointed ceo of Rizon Jet, Khader Mattar, regional vp sales Middle East, India and Africa for Bombardier Business Aircraft, were on hand to celebrate. Guests were given a tour of the building, including the lavish private aviation lounge, the hanger and state-of-the art service facilities.

See us at EBACE booth 1953

Al-Mousawi takes the helm as Rizon opens FBO in Doha Middle East and UK-based Rizon Jet has appointed Capt Hassan Al-Mousawi as company chief executive to lead its recently refreshed management team.

Al-Mousawi says: “I’m truly honoured and excited to lead Rizon Jet at this important stage in its growth and expansion. My vision is to maintain our commitment to seven-star service; whether that means providing unparalleled world class executive passenger handling facilities and services, or managing and maintaining business jets to standards that exceed industry norms.”

Al-Mousawi comes from a strong aviation background with extensive experience as an airline pilot and as a senior flight operations as well as flight safety and quality official and consultant. His aviation career started in 1982 when he became an air traffic controller. In 1992 he was promoted to head of air safety

and air navigation at Qatar’s Department of Civil Aviation.

He joined Gulf Air in 1994 flying the Airbus aircraft for the Bahraini national carrier, later becoming manager of flight safety and emergency planning. Before joining Rizon Jet as ceo in January 2012, Al-Mousawi was senior vp of operations at India’s Jet Airways. He is passionate about aviation and he has been a commander on the Airbus A320, A330 and A340 aircraft.

As the only independent private jet operator with its own terminal in Qatar, Rizon Jet believes it is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the burgeoning Gulf market.

The company also has an FBO facility at London Biggin Hill, where it has been preparing by upping capacity to handle anticipated demand during the Olympics and extending the range of aircraft services offered.

It has secured approvals for

the management and maintenance of a number of new aircraft models.

At the opening of Rizon’s new FBO at Doha, AlMousawi says: “Rizon Jet offers flyers and private jets owners something unique and tailored to their individual needs and this can be seen across our service offering. We are extremely proud of this terminal and the facilities it extends to our clients and are pleased to have the opportunity to welcome you here.”

“The presence of HE Abdul Aziz bin Mohamad Al Noaimi, and Khader Mattar today is a testament to the unique role that Rizon Jet plays and the support we enjoy from national authorities and international industry leaders.

We are grateful for this support and determined to leverage it to provide the best value to our customers in Qatar, Europe and all over the world,” he adds.

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General Aviation

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

6 APRIL 2012

A second Encore keeps Hesnes strategy on course Norwegian business charter operator Hesnes Air has purchased a second Citation Encore.

The eight-year-old aircraft, which arrived in February and has already flown revenue services, has a seating capacity of eight plus one and is a welcome addition to the company’s existing fleet of King Air B200, AS350 helicopter and original Encore.

Hesnes Air people in the back row: Capt Aleksander Aaland, Capt Magne F Solberg, Capt Per Marius Nilsen, Capt Henrik Schjølberg, technical manager Øystein Hobbelstad, managing director Pia Harneshaug and marketing and sales manager Sissel Kirkvaag.

Medic’Air collects coma patient from Adelaide Medic’Air was involved in a challenging medical repatriation recently, when its Falcon 50 flew for 25 hours with an ICU patient from Adelaide, Australia, to Antwerp.

The Belgian patient had suffered a major traffic accident when visiting family and was in hospital in a coma with spinal fractures.

For three weeks she was improving, but maintained in a coma under mechanical ventilation, while an infectious process prevented the neurosurgeon fixing the unstable fracture. Chinese Medic’Air doctors, in accordance with the family’s wish, decided to use this period to repatriate the patient.

The Falcon was dispatched from Le Bourget with three attendants, an emergency physician, an intensivist nurse and an anaesthesiologist nurse, who could each take four-hour shifts. From Adelaide, the Falcon reached Bali then Colombo to pick up a third pilot and then stopped in Kuwait where it picked up a fourth pilot. Each leg was done in less than five and a half hours, each stop in less than 45 minutes – assisted by the pilots’ presences in Colombo and Kuwait.

The last leg to Antwerp lasted six hours and 20 minutes with the patient remaining stable.

Medic’Air has a new Falcon 50EX currently in Geneva to be adapted into a dedicated air ambulance with two ICU stretchers and an electric loading system.

Passion and precision of polo appeals to GlobeAir

These are all based at the company’s headquarters at Torp airport, Sandefjord, but from April the latest Encore will mainly be based at Gardermoen.

Hesnes has operated the first Encore for over four years now, and has been pleased with its performance during that time.

However, it has an interior configuration which offers only seven plus one seats. “We see that it is necessary in our market to offer more seats,” says Sissel Kirkvaag.

Hesnes had been looking for a suitable new aircraft for some time, and is confident that this Encore, which was was previously operated

by Eurojet Romania, will prove to be a good investment.

The company has employed three new pilots, each of whom has had the necessary training in Wichita, Texas. “We feel there are many qualified pilots available and we have had a lot of applications,” says Kirkvaag.

The company’s long-term strategy is to have six aircraft in operation, although it has taken the precaution of reserving a series of nine consecutive registration marks.

Lauda takes delivery of first Vision Flight Deck Three times Formula 1 champion Niki Lauda has taken delivery of the first aircraft to feature Bombardier’s Vision Flight Deck, a Global 5000.

“Flying a Global aircraft is an incomparable experience, and I’m convinced that the new flight deck will not only meet, but surpass, my expectations,” says Lauda.

This is the latest in a series of Bombardier aircraft that Lauda has owned and piloted. Until recently he operated a Challenger 300 as his private aircraft, which he frequently used to travel to Formula 1 races around the world from his home base in Austria.

Bombardier and Rockwell Collins are the first to certify synthetic vision imagery on a HUD as part of the Pro Line Fusion system. The Vision Flight Deck received EASA certification on February 20 and is featured on Global 5000 and 6000 jets.

Dario Musso, a polo player from Argentina, belongs to the Ruinart-Montecarlo Team that won the tournament in Cortina for which GlobeAir was a sponsor.

While the Euro 2012 football championships and the Olympic Games are making the sporting headlines this summer, Austrian air charter company GlobeAir has scored a marketing success with its customers by sponsoring international polo.

This is the first time the company has approached a sport, announcing the sponsorship of the prestigious ‘Audi Polo Gold Cup’ circuit during three tournaments in Cortina, Forte dei Marmi and Rome, where the teams are challenged on the ice, sand and grass.

“These actions include the positioning of our services at the high end, through partnership agreements with major and leading companies in the field of excellence, in which GlobeAir shares culture and values,” says Mauro De Rosa, chief marketing officer at GlobeAir. “The decision to approach this sport allows us to convey to the public the values of our company and the strengths that differentiate us from our competitors. We find in this sport the same passion, precision and commitment that allow us to obtain the best performance in all conditions, without ever losing sight of respect for rules,” adds Claudia Fanini, marketing and communications manager.

GlobeAir owns the world’s largest fleet of Citation Mustangs, configured for four people, and says it has achieved its success thanks to the strategy of offering the “best service before, during and after the flight to those who seek flexible solutions for flying”. Certified by Wyvern and ISBAO, GlobeAir says it can land at airports such as St Tropez, Lugano, and St Moritz, which are not accessible to traditional airlines.

From April 5th to 9th, GlobeAir will attend the Beach Polo Audi Gold Cup in Forte dei Marmi for the entire period of the tournament, organising transfers for guests, providing information about its services and collecting names for a raffled flight aboard a private jet.

Qatar Executive extends maintenance in Doha Qatar Executive of Abu Dhabi has become Bombardier’s newest line maintenance facility in Doha, allowing Qatar Airways’ corporate jet subsidiary to provide maintenance and repair services for Challenger 300, 604, 605 and the manufacturer’s Global family of business jets for the Middle East.

The new agreement enables the operator to perform line and AOG maintenance, and to conduct warranty repairs on aircraft for Bombardier jet owners, effective from April. The company’s operation is based at Doha International

airport, where it has a fully equipped 6,400 square metre maintenance hangar.

Qatar Executive operates a fleet of six wholly owned Bombardier jets, set to progressively expand to meet the growing demand for premium business jet services in the Middle East and globally. With an average age of only one year, Qatar Executive is said to operate the youngest fleet of corporate jets in the Gulf.

Qatar Airways ceo Akbar Al Baker comments: “We are proud that Bombardier has selected Qatar Executive as an approved service

facility for Qatar, the Middle East and neighbouring regions and we look forward to offering exceptional maintenance service and professional expertise to regional Bombardier jet owners and visiting private jet operators.

“With Bombardier and Qatar Executive sharing the same values on high quality standards, customer care, reliability and delivery punctuality, we are confident this partnership will be a success that further cements Qatar’s position as a major aviation and maintenance hub,” adds Al Baker.

Qatar Executive’s evp Tilmann Gabriel (right) and vp customer services and support Bombardier Business Aircraft Andy Nureddin in front of Qatar Executive’s Challenger 605, at the Abu Dhabi Air Expo.

Heli Air adds base at Fairoaks Heli Air has taken over the former Alan Mann Helicopters office building at Fairoaks airport, and expects to locate a JetRanger to the new base in the near future.

The company had a Robinson R66, the JetRanger and a Bell 47 on hand for a launch event in March and has already based an R44 there for training work.

Gary Savage has been appointed as base manager at Fairoaks. It is his intention in the spring to add several additional aircraft as the operation grows, particularly a float equipped machine for River Thames and London helicopter routes. Heli Air is also very keen to have the new Robinson R66 turbine helicopter based at Fairoaks.

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

Hamburg’s Syltair steps up to the CJ2 Syltair has added a pre-owned Citation CJ2 to its fleet, operated on behalf of its owner, and expects to have this included on its AOC within the coming weeks.

The company mainly flies twin prop aircraft, but also has a Citation 501SP which will be retained. “The CJ2 is much newer, faster and more fuel efficient and the customers do like a modern jet,” says ground operations manager Juergen MeyerBrenkhof. “As for the pilots, we have crews that fly both aircraft.”

Most of the fleet comprises Cessna models: “We fly them because the view for the passengers is simply better than from low wing aircraft,” he says.

The view is especially important as the company flies a small-scale scheduled service to the popular tourist island of Sylt, which has been in continuous operation for almost half a century. “Fifty years is correct,” says Meyer-Brenkhof, “but the names of the airlines have changed over the years. It used to be Nordseeflug, thereafter Friesenflug and since 1998 it is Syltair.

“The equipment was mostly small types, Cessna 172, 182 and Cessna 207, and we have used Partenavias, Senecas, and Cessna 404. The average occupancy is three to four passengers per flight. It is not cheap but to operate the 100 miles cost effectively we must fly with one or two passengers in the worst case, for the price of a regular ticket which is €235.

“It is a good connection for passengers to go to Hamburg and then on to wherever they need to go.

We only run it in the summer time, of course, daily.”

Abelag anticipates a second 7X Abelag Aviation is to add a second Falcon 7X to its managed fleet at the end of April, following the first that was acquired last September.

The Brussels-based trijet will replace its owner’s Falcon 2000 and will be offered for charter as soon as it can be added to the AOC, in two to three months.

Sales executive Thomas Haymans also reports that Abelag has started construction of a new FBO building and a 3,500 square metre hangar.

IN OUR MAY ISSUE:

Make the most of EBACE: A buyer’s guide PUBLISHED MAY 3RD, 2012

APRIL 2012 7

EURO 2012 PREVIEW UKRAINE/POLAND

Wroclaw’s new stadium opened in September and has capacity for 42,000 spectators.

Good news for all as some charter fleets are tied up with football Euro 2012 should be good news for charter operators across the board, as a greatly increased requirement for flights to the venues in Poland and Ukraine will mean even those not engaged with carrying football fans will be busy ensuring day-today charter needs are met.

While the Euro football championships have been shared between two host countries twice before, no previous tournament has featured stadiums so geographically widespread as the 2012 outing.

Gdansk in the north of Poland is over 900 miles from Donets’k in the east of Ukraine, so air transport is going to play an important part in the smooth running of the group and knockout stages.

Eurocontrol estimates that there will be more than 1,200 additional flights connected to the Euro 2012 games, ranging from business aviation to wide-body passenger charters.

Both countries are very challenging for passengers who want to drive or take public transportation from one city to another. The highway network of each country is not designed for this, so the only way to effectively move around may be private aircraft or helicopter.

For the Ukraine, hosting a major sporting event such as the Euro 2012 football championships has involved major investment not only in stadiums, but also in airport infrastructure. The country has undertaken upgrades at four airports, all of which are now fully in service.

On April 12th, the president of the Union of European Football Associations Michel Platini will officially inaugurate the runway extension and new terminal building at the Danylo Halytskyi International Airport in Lviv in western Ukraine.

Platini is reported to have said that the organisation of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine has been a complicated and difficult adventure, and that the tournament has played a key role in developing much-needed infrastructure in the host countries.

European Air Ambulance reports that it will be on heightened alert during Euro 2012.

For Ukraine the legacy will be new airports, hotels and roads.

Ukrainian authorities also saw to the reconstruction of the country’s four stadiums, and made sure the street signs were available in English.

Hotel accommodation may be at a premium, as it is reported that there are only around 60,000 beds available in the Ukrainian host cities, although only 20 per cent had been booked

by February.

POLAND Fifteen matches will take place at four stadiums in Poland.

Every city that is going to host a match has access to an international airport that is located no more than 15km from downtown, so these are the obvious first choice arrival points. However, during Euro 2012

parking time will be limited on the match days, and in peak hours general aviation traffic may be excluded completely, so alternative commercial and general aviation airports have been designated.

“There will be some inconveniences since most of the operations are planned in the short time periods before and right after the matches,” says Marcin Targonski of Polish handling specialist Excel Handling. “Every airport is limited by the runway capacity, therefore some passengers will have to wait a while or arrive much earlier than planned, and the same rule applies to the departures.

“At this moment we are still able to book slots as requested by operators, but the slot pool will eventually run out. Also limited parking time on the match days may prove to be a problem. It forces operators to plan another ferry operation to the alternative airport and back. This fact with the limited slot pool may cause some delays. But if everything is planned in advance I’m sure we’ll be able to avoid such a situation.”

In all Polish cities and in Kiev parking positions will be limited.

Operators should anticipate having to re-position their aircraft to the closest alternate airport that has enough space and is reasonably priced.

Hangar Doors www.championdoor.com booth C104

Warsaw Poland’s team will play the first match against Greece on June 8th in Warsaw.

The main international airport is Chopin (EPWA), and Lodz (EPLL) is the commercial traffic alternative, but Modlin (EPMO) will be a good option much closer to the city when it opens to general aviation traffic in May. EVO Jet Services has been carefully monitoring Modlin and says that the airport authority has made preparation for Euro 2012 its top priority. The airport plans to have water taxi and helicopter shuttles available for GA passengers, in addition to standard ground transportation by limousine. It is intended to open Modlin as a commercial airport by June, when short haul low-cost operators are due to begin operations there.

Wroclaw The brand-new stadium at Wroclaw will host Russia and the Czech Republic on the opening day.

The city’s Nicolaus Copernicus airport (EPWR) is closest, and the alternative of Katowice (EPKT) is some way distant.

Gdansk Spain, Italy, Ireland and Croatia all have group matches at Gdansk, which is served by Lech Walesa Continued on next page

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

8 APRIL 2012

EURO 2012 PREVIEW UKRAINE/POLAND Continued from preceding page

airport (EPGD) and alternative at Bydgoszcz (EPBY).

Poznan Italy, Ireland and Croatia’s other matches will take place at Poznan, accessed via the city airport Lawica (EPPO) or the nearby alternative of Zielona Gora (EPZG).

“As for ground transport, links very much depend on the city and their decisions,” says Targonski of Excel Handling, “such as we witnessed during the match between Poland and Portugal hosted in Warsaw, when a few streets and a bridge were closed to traffic.”

Excel Handling is confident however: “Since we work with very experienced drivers, we have never experienced any kind of complaints, or delays related to the ground transport of the passengers, nor do we anticipate any during Euro 2012.”

Poland has never before hosted a sports event on this scale and so the local handling companies are not sure how much traffic to expect. “But we are receiving new requests almost every day so it seems that we’ll have a pretty busy summer,” adds Targonski.

But not too busy to watch some football: “Some of us have already bought tickets and we work in a very efficient way that is also designed to give us some time to enjoy ourselves,” he adds.

Euro Jet Intercontinental provides ground handling support at airports throughout eastern Europe, including Poland and Ukraine, and so brings a wider perspective to events.

“In 2008 during the same championship in Austria, Euro Jet coordinated 86 movements in Bratislava as an alternate to Vienna on the day of the final match,” says Attila Papai. “In Poland both slots and parking will be challenging. Even permit applications are complicated, so operators should really trust an expert who can coordinate everything for them.

“With so many private aircraft converging at once, it is always going to create challenges to get everyone in as close to their desired schedule as possible. The need to go to the matches via private aviation creates even more traffic than normal.”

In Poland, ATC flight plans will be compared with cleared airport slots. In the event of any discrepancies a warning message will be sent to the flight plan originator. Unresolved discrepancies may result in the suspension of the flight plan. Furthermore there will be limitations in ground times in Poland ranging from 30 to 90 minutes depending upon the aircraft ICAO category. Crews must remain on board during the ground time in order to quickly refuel and be

Elena Govorukhina at EVO Jet Services says that the company will be bringing in extra staff to cover the busy period.

flexible with parking spot changes.

“These limitations are, however, not applicable to aircraft carrying the football teams,” says Papai.

Euro Jet assumes that the quarterfinal, semi-final and the two final games will attract the most private jets. According to its previous experience, the number of landings per event and per airport (including alternate ones) could be between 120 and 160, including ad-hoc passenger charters. “But considering the location of the match cities in this case these numbers could be much higher,” adds Papai.

“We will all be working non-stop!

Our staff might have the football up on the screens in our operations control centre and perhaps our ramp agents will see some on breaks between flights. But those will be few and far between. We look forward to watching the re-runs, in between catching up on sleep!”

UKRAINE Ukraine will host 16 matches in Kiev, Donets’k, Kharkiv and Lviv.

As in Poland, each host city has a major international airport nearby, and alternatives have been specified for each. The host city airports themselves may also be considered as alternates depending on whether a match is being played that day.

In order to use the capacity of airports in the most effective way and to ensure the safety and effectiveness of ground handling, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine has designated the four major airports as coordinated from June 1st until July 2nd and has appointed the KbpSCS as coordinator for the slot allocation procedure.

Elena Govorukhina, sales and marketing manager of EVO Jet Services, has some advice to any aircraft operator planning to come in for the Euro 2012: Apply for your slot and Ukraine landing permit as early as possible. “Permissions for general aviation flights in Poland are not required, but they are for Ukraine, so apply for them early. It is also best to keep in mind that Eurocontrol will be dealing with the new flight routing issues caused by the opening of

The Kiev heliport has heated hangars and a vip lounge.

Challenge Aero’s Kiev heliport offers a viable option Those having to use the alternative airports may be interested to know that Challenge Aero has recently opened a heliport in Kiev, just five kilometres from the city centre, with heated hangars for helicopters and a vip lounge for passengers and crew rest area. It opened for business at the end of February.

Challenge Aero operates Eurocopter 120, 145 and 155, Bell 430, 407 and 429, and Agusta Grand helicopters. The company has now also opened a Moscow office, staffed by Sergei Nikiforov, who reports that there is an increasing quantity of management aircraft,

not for charter. The company also operates a wide variety of business jet aircraft, comprising Yak 40, Falcon 20, Learjet 60XR, Hawker 850XP, Challenger 300, Falcon 2000, Global Express, Falcon 7X and Gulfstream 550 types.

THE OPERATOR’S VIEW

Brandenburg Airport in Berlin at the same time as Euro 2012, so the more advance notice you can give on your permit request the better.”

Kiev The rebuilt stadium in the capital city will host group matches involving the home nation, Sweden, England and France, as well as the final on July 1st.

Kiev has two airports: Boryspil (UKBB) and Zhulany (UKKK).

Boryspil is the country’s main airport and will have a new passenger terminal constructed in time for the tournament, and also has two vip halls which may be used by GA passengers. Zhulany is a smaller, city centre airport which also has a vip hall for GA passengers. However, both have limited space and there will be challenges and priorities given for slots and parking. The second alternative is Gostomel (UKKM), a cargo airport and flight test centre for the aircraft manufacturer Antonov.

Donets’k Ukraine, England and France will also play group matches in Donets’k. In preparation for Euro 2012, the main Donets’k airport (UKCC) is constructing a new terminal, control tower, parking stands and runway.

Euro Jet reports that the old runway could be used as parking space, so there is not likely to be a requirement to position out.

The first alternate Lugansk (UKCW ) is about a three-hour drive away, while Mariupol (UKCM) is slightly closer and was designated as an international airport in 2003.

Kharkiv The stadium in Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv, said to resemble a giant spider, will see games involving Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Portugal. The main airport at Kharkiv (UKHH) has built a new terminal for the Euro championships and the previous, visually striking, building is now a vip facility.

The previously dilapidated airport at Poltava (UKHP), which was earmarked for renovation by the time

“Also, Ukraine recently decided to participate in daylight saving time which means that there could be approved slot times that were applied based on UTC and are not the correct local times. We will be checking this and making sure it is all done correctly.”

Sky Handling, Ukraine, has already received 54 confirmed requests for flights to the two Kiev airports, and 14 from major airlines. “We will put more staff and transport on during Euro 2012, but we will decline to handle some flights if we cannot guarantee services in time.

Confirming services to everybody and then not being able to fulfil promises is not honest to the client!” says Victor Cherednichenko, head of operations.

Elena Govorukhina at EVO Jet Services says that the company will be bringing extra staff from its other stations to support the anticipated increased traffic during the event.

“We are not expecting to get much sleep, let alone have time to go to any of the matches,” she says. “But we are committed to making sure that our clients get to the games, enjoy themselves, and have as few issues as possible.”

Modlin airport, Warsaw, opens to general air traffic in May.

of the Euros, is the closest alternative, along with Dnepropetrovsk (UKDD) which is about a three to four hour drive away.

Lviv Germany, Portugal and Denmark will play out the group matches at Lviv.

Lviv (UKLL) airport has been enhanced with a runway extension and new terminal building. In the event that it has no available slots or parking spaces the alternatives are Ivano-Frankovsk (UKLI) – not open 24 hours and with a small terminal – and Uzhgorod (UKLU). These would involve three to five hour drives, depending on traffic, says EVO Jet Services.

Sky Handling, Ukraine, advises that all slots for the four primary airports during the group stages have to be booked through Boryspil at least three days before the requested operation date. Submission for flights for the knock-out matches can be obtained not earlier than June 15th but not later than 48 hours before the day of the game.

“Right now in Ukraine the first priorities will be given to the flights which transport the leadership of the football associations, team flights and possible diplomatic flights,” says Euro Jet's Papai. “For other operators we recommend they send us their estimated schedule and request as soon as possible to get them on a priority list.

“One issue that has come up is limited hotel availability in Ukraine, however we are working on ways to accommodate crews as soon as rooms get released.

Providing the Ukrainian-based operator’s perspective is Elena Shevchenko of Challenge Aero, who says: “We receive requests for our aircraft based in Ukraine almost every day, and mainly for Euro 2012 football. But as the event takes place in about three months we cannot confirm the requests so early. Most of the requests come from individuals.”

The company has previous experience of flying to major championship sporting events, such as the 2006 World Cup in Germany and Euro 2008. “As I remember all problems with slots and permissions were solved by flying to alternative airports nearby, because it was impossible to get slots in direct airports unless you were a member of UEFA,” says Shevchenko.

The majority of flights into this year’s football extravaganza will be operated by foreign charter companies from around Europe – so EBAN asked them about their plans for the summer, and found some quite diverse opinions.

Merve Ozcan of Borajet said: “In my opinion there is no opportunity with these kind of events. People who fly private for these events only fly private once a year for that event, so I believe it doesn’t improve our profile.

Also most of the time, specially for sporting events, they use bigger business aircraft such as the BBJ so they can travel as a team or group.”

Abelag’s Thomas Haymans says they have yet to receive a booking or quotation request.

“We are pretty sure that it will happen in the coming month. People who want to fly for Euro 2012 are individuals/owners who love football and want to enjoy a great match. So we expect some bookings but for the football, it’s always dependent on the team results, like in 2010 when Holland got to the final, we had many flight requests.” Previous experiences during the World Cup and Euro 2004/8 suggest the challenge will be to find parking places for aircraft.

European Air Ambulance will be on heightened alert during the Euro 2012 football and London Olympics and ready to transport patients as requested, whether athletes or tourists travelling abroad for the events. The company is in close contact with the assistance and travel insurance companies to be ready when a medical repatriation is needed.

Mission control is operational 24/7 and an air ambulance mission can be started

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

within two hours, day or night.

Even though the airports will be fairly packed during the events, the air ambulance operator’s status for medical flights will gain priority and be able to evacuate patients immediately.

Andy Barlow of Humberside airport-based Eastern Airways reports that the company is not expecting much involvement in Euro 2012. He says: “It is challenging, not least because Ukraine is out of range for us from the UK and difficult even from much of Europe to some of the destinations in the east of the country.

“Poland is not a problem in that respect but demand for flights there has been much lower. Given the operational complexities of operating to Ukraine, and with the normally high costs plus the main demand for flights back to home countries overnight, we're not really doing much for Euro 2012.” With other operators engaged elsewhere, Barlow expects to do decent business anyway: “The competition falls during a peak period for general corporate demand, especially for car companies, and with many of our competitors tying themselves up with football related flights, we’re doing very nicely picking up vip non-football work in countries such as Germany.”

Last minute bookings are on the cards for MJET, as asset manager Dan Rusu explains: “Over 90 per cent of our flights are with or on behalf of the aircraft owners and we are expecting short-notice bookings. Each of our ultra large cabin business aircraft is ready for charters for groups of up to 19 passengers.

LEA’s Patrick Margetson-Rushmore: Experienced in flying customers to major events across Europe.

The performance of a favourite team is the decisive factor influencing some clients’ decisions to watch a match or competition live. Rusu says: “Euro 2008 was a good example. I am sure that all 10 business jets that are under our management – three large cabin and two super mid-size Gulfstream jets, three ultra-large cabin Fokker 100EJ and two midsize Hawker 900XP jets – will have flights to both Euro 2012 and the Olympics.

“Obtaining slots and parking is always a challenging task during such important events but an experienced operator knows what has to be done,” he adds.

Italian company Icaro Aerotaxi has received some requests but no firm bookings as yet. Captain Massimo Bernucci says: “I expect requests especially for Poland.

Customer requests at this time are from brokers with no slot or parking requested right now. I hope it will not be a problem, but I do not believe so.”

Experiences of several major sporting events in the past, including the World Cup final and Formula 1 Grand Prix, were not good for the company, Bernucci explains. “Always the price for the service given at the airport (handling etc) is higher than normal, yet the service was worse due to the high congestion, and too much operative workload to obtain airport slots, parking spaces or overnights

APRIL 2012 9

Euro 2012 – the venues and the airports that serve them.

with incredible restrictions.

“So normally, an air taxi flight that has to be flexible for the customer will not meet this requirement and we

just have to be grateful for having the possibility to land in the special events airport.”

The difficulties Bernucci envisages

do not stop there. “In the past, we have lost several flights due to being unable to match customer requests.... or have been unable to overnight due to lack of parking; same for Athens, or Nice for the Monaco grand prix.

Then, it happens that you are able to land and you see the reality is totally different, and there is lots of parking free because expected flights never landed and in the end a lot of confusion for nothing!”

German and northern European airports get a special mention from Bernucci for their efficiency during these major sporting events, in particular Berlin for the World Cup final and Amsterdam, Munich and Manchester for the championship finals.

Herve Raffin of Medic-Air says that his team will be more involved during the Olympic games in London, mainly for travellers booked from Asia through its 24-hour Chinese and Japanese operators. “In our experience, all these big events in occidental cities with a good level of

EURO 2012 PREVIEW UKRAINE/POLAND

care don’t provide so many medical cases for repatriation, and not in a rush. We don't need any previous plan or slot.”

At Finnish company Jetflite Lija Montonen reports charter requests to fly to Poland and they have slots in place already for Warsaw. “We required them right at the beginning of March, when the slot coordinator started to grant them.”

However, Montonen points out: “Football and the summer Olympics are not very popular in our country, not like ice-hockey, thus we are not expecting any high demand. We have experienced problems with parking of our aircraft during such sports events.”

Having received a number of requests for Euro 2012 and the Continued on next page

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

10 APRIL 2012

EURO 2012 PREVIEW UKRAINE/POLAND

Continued from preceding page

London Olympics, Premium Jet’s Marcel Wepfer is confident that bookings will be made shortly.

“Although most of the time we do not know who is behind a request, especially if it is made by brokers.

Individuals as well as sponsors and associations are interested but in general such information will only be disclosed at the time of booking.”

Having had no firm bookings so far, Premium Jet has not encountered problems with airport slots or parking space. “We asked for the options and are rather close to what we requested.”

Previous experience has shown that, once again, slots and parking space need to be considered carefully, or flying to an alternate airports for parking. Wepfer adds: “Apart from this it’s sometimes difficult to not lose track of the different special processes and guidelines that need to be followed during such events.”

Omni of Portugal has received prebookings for Euro 2012, mostly from tour operators and sponsors who focus on the sporting events. Pedro Caneira remarks that nowadays there seems to be more stress on the preparation rather than the operation itself. “In 2009 we flew to Rome for the final of the Champions League and all was smooth, although we had to position to Olbia between passenger drop-off and pick-up.” He adds, cryptically: “In 2010 for the World Cup final in Johannesburg we experienced a new concept in aircraft parking creativity at Lanseria.”

Simon Wheatley, manager UK of Air Partner Private Jets, says: “July Gringuz, who speaks Russian, German and English, was appointed as Air Partner’s Private Jets sales manager for the Ukraine and CIS last year. Gringuz has been visiting

airports and operators in the Ukraine and Poland to ensure Euro 2012 is successful for all our clients attending the games and that the company is well prepared to handle private jet or commercial jet charter bookings.”

Chief executive of London Executive Aviation (LEA) Patrick Margetson-Rushmore says: “We are constantly quoting for Euro 2012 and London Olympics business jet charter flights at the moment. Of the two events, we would expect a larger volume of bookings for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. There are still a healthy number of slots available around the matches at present, but of course those numbers will fall significantly as we approach the start of the tournament in Warsaw.

“For LEA, unsurprisingly, flights to the England Group D matches in Ukraine have been the most popular enquiries and bookings so far.

“For both the Olympics and Euro 2012, enquiries are tending to focus around companies who want to fly their clients or staff to the events.”

He adds: “We are very experienced flying customers to major events across Europe, including sporting tournaments, which means we understand the difficult logistical challenges extremely well.

Traditionally, business jet charter customers make bookings close to the day of departure, but our advice is to book flights for popular events as early as possible. Late bookings run the risk that the only available slots remaining are at airports far from the host stadium.”

Margetson-Rushmore believes that the benefits of business aviation around major sporting events are beyond dispute. “Rather than losing days out of the office, fans chartering with their friends could fly out to see the live action at the football and be home again within hours. Dividing air charter costs between six or eight passengers can make the expense per person very attractive, especially when you factor in savings on hotels and ground transportation.” ■

At the Euro 2012 ticket sales launch, UEFA executive committee member Frantisek Laurinec hands four tickets to the winners of a lottery. Courtesy UEFA.

Retford (Gamston) airport welcomes parking slot/hangarage applications for visitors to the London Olympics 2012.

With a 5,500ft runway and the ability to handle aircraft up to MTOW 25,000kgs we are an attractive alternative for the corporate operator.

Fast rail links into London from Retford can see you in the City of London in as little as 1 hr 27 minutes.

OLYMPICS 2012 PREVIEW

Canoeists practice at Lee Valley White Water Centre, the London 2012 Canoe Slalom venue. Copyright LOCOG.

Busy times ahead as Olympic bookings expected to flood in The London Olympic Games this summer are expected to attract 600,000 people, mostly spectators, but also including 17,000 athletes, 2,000 team officials, 20,000 press/media and many Heads of State and vips. Large numbers of additional flights will be required, and while the deluge of actual bookings may still be over the horizon even at this advanced stage, there are major plans in place to cope with demand when it happens.

Early in 2010 engineering consultancy Atkins delivered a demand forecast for summer 2012 air traffic which indicated a net addition over the peak 31-day period of the Games, of about 240,000 passengers over baseline commercial air passenger numbers. On the peak day, predicted to be August 13th after the closing ceremony, there are expected to be up to 200 additional departures from the five primary London area airports. A significant

Please call: +44 (0) 1777 838521 or email: admin@retfordairport.co.uk for more details. We look forward to welcoming you to the UK’s friendliest GA / Corporate Aerodrome.

www.retfordairport.co.uk

contribution to the increased air traffic demand was expected to be from business aviation, forecast to account for over 3,000 more flights in the peak 31-day period.

So action has been taken, and airport slot co-ordination – which is permanent at the major airports of Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City – has been extended to 36 other airfields and airports for the period around the main Games.

Slots must be pre-booked at airports for arrivals and departures, and charter services may also require an operating permit from the for Department government’s Transport.

IFR arrivals and departures are being formally coordinated at all airports in the south east of England

by Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) using a slot allocation system.

For example, on a weekday in the hour from 0700 to 0759 Luton will have 36 slots (including those used by its scheduled and holiday traffic), Southampton 22, Southend and Farnborough 20 each, Bournemouth

15, Biggin Hill and Cambridge 10 each, Manston and Oxford six each, Blackbushe five, Lydd and Northolt four each, and the remaining airports even fewer.

TAG Farnborough Airport ceo Brandon O’Reilly says: “We have already received a high number of advanced bookings, with over 700 slots taken so far.”

THE AIRPORT CHOICES Some trips to the Olympics will be simpler than others, those following the football tournament may need to travel to stadiums in four cities unaffected by airspace restrictions or requirements; slot additional Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester and Newcastle, or to Coventry (slots required at Coventry airport, daytime only, eight movements per hour) and Wembley in London.

Weymouth on the south coast is to host the sailing and paralympic sailing, but the small area of restricted airspace above the competition does not extend as far as Bournemouth airport. Slots will be

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EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

APRIL 2012 11

OLYMPICS 2012 PREVIEW

Peter Bondar

DiamondExecutive Aviation plays a role in Olympics security Some business operators have already benefited from the Olympics long before the torch has been lit.

The RAF’s Typhoon-equipped 17 Squadron has conducted activity associated with the intervention of light aircraft as part of the UK Government’s wide ranging security initiatives around the 2012 Olympic Games.

“Diamond-Executive Aviation provided Diamond DA42 Twin Star aircraft and crews to assist the RAF in developing a variety of intervention procedures,” reports Peter Bondar ceo and CAA accountable manager.

“The trials conducted in Class G airspace to the south west of Birmingham were conducted during early March and involved the DA42s flying at a variety of levels to help assess the Typhoon's onboard systems. The trial was successfully completed and valuable data was acquired to assist the RAF in the planning for the security provisions,” he adds. required but there will be some availability 24-hours and up to 15 per hour during the day.

All of the other sports take place in London or its environs. Lee Valley to the north will be the venue for canoeing, and is most easily reached from the airports to the north of the city. Hadleigh Farm to the east will provide the mountain biking course, and is the closest event venue to Southend airport which will operate 24-hours. Brands Hatch, south east of London, will provide its racing track for the paralympic (but not main Games) road cycling, and Eton Dorney to the west will host rowing and sprint canoeing. Among west London airfields/airports, Northolt has the greatest slot allocation, although Blackbushe and Farnborough are also conveniently close.

A computer generated image showing an internal view of the Olympic Stadium. Copyright ODA.

All other events take place in the Olympic Park itself or other parts of central London.

Visitors might enjoy a road trip to the closest airfield to the Park, Damyns Hall, on August 4th and 5th for its annual Military and Flying Machines show, but its grass strip offers few opportunities for travel to the Games themselves, with no movement slots allocated.

All of the major business aviation airports are keen to attract visitors throughout the Games and will have made arrangements to transfer passengers to central London. One option is the London Heliport in Battersea, recently acquired by the Reuben brothers, owners of Oxford airport, with newly developed terminal and vip lounge. The heliport benefits from exemption to the prohibited flight zone during the Olympics, although passengers and crew may be required to have been through pre-screening.

The final stretch of the journey will inevitably be by railway, such as the Javelin fast trains from St Pancras station in just seven minutes, or by coach from a park-and-ride site.

London Heliport at Battersea is an option for the Games that benefits from exemption to the prohibited flight zone during the Olympics.

involved as an operator and all our team is working hard to make it successful,” adds Fanini.

One company that does have firm bookings chalked up already is Denim Air from the Netherlands, which has one Fokker 50 available year-round for charters. Ted van

Zundert, director of sales and marketing, has fielded enquiries about transport to the Euro 2012 championships, but rather more for the Olympics. “Interest is mainly from vip groups, whether companies or supporters and fans. Slots are available as we fly in to the less crowded airports and fly in and out so no parking is required,” he says.

"We have vast experience of flying at major sports events. We fly to Le Mans each year, and also fly many sports teams across Europe from football to rugby, and cycling to ice hockey. In the past we have also done the Dakar rally and Beijing rally, flying domestic in China.”

The expedition from Holland to Beijing was in 2006, for a classic car rally transporting parts, vips and the camera teams covering the rally. They were 90 minute sectors each time,

THE OPERATORS' VIEW GlobeAir of Austria is typical of many European business jet operators grappling with the slot booking requirements. “We are planning to fly a lot to London during the Olympic period,” says Claudia Fanini, marketing and communications manager. “We have already received some requests from brokers and there is a lot of interest for this event, but no flights have been booked so far.

“Our plan is to handle any request one by one, in order to offer the best solution to our customers.

GlobeAir sponsors the Polo Gold Cup 2012 (see news page 6), but the Olympic Games is the first huge sporting event in which we have been

Captain Marc Buijs and first officer Jaco Olierook of Denim Air, a company with wide experience of flying to major sporting events.

Timeline demonstrating how airspace restrictions coincide with the Olympic events.

with the film crew covering the start and then flying to film the finish.

“Very nice,” says van Zundert, “and yes, lots of paperwork, stamps and overflights. In Russian and Chinese airspace it is not easy to arrange all these papers.”

He reports that cycling teams tend to transport the bikes by road, while other teams such as football, basketball, volley ball and ice hockey take their kit on board.

As for slots: “With proper preparation time it is no problem. Adhoc and last minute? It is just a matter of finger crossing and smiling over the phone!”

Eastern Airways has one aircraft, a Saab 2000, dedicated to shuttle flying between Stansted and the Netherlands throughout the Olympics. “Other than this we have received some ad-hoc requests, but not as many as I had expected,” says Andy Barlow.

“However it is clear that, as with Euro 2012, there will be some complications involved with flights to this event, including possible issues with layover parking and crew hotel availability at the London airports. I am keeping an open mind as to whether this event will generate much more in the way of business for us, as it's a bit early to tell.”

Mike Russell, ceo of Oryx Jet, is similarly expectant: “We have had enquiries for both major events (Olympics and Euro 2012) but no confirmed bookings to our knowledge for either. I assume clients are awaiting any final ticket allocations.

We do expect significant bookings.

Continued on next page

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

12 APRIL 2012

Western operators find rich pickings as Russia’s homegrown charter shows slow growth

OLYMPICS 2012 PREVIEW Continued from preceding page

“The majority of our business at the moment comes through brokers so I cannot tell you where the customers originate or who they are.

Presently we do not have any problems with slots or parking and we do not envisage this being a major problem to us. As we started operating at the end of 2010 we have not flown into major sporting events but Biggin Hill, where we expect most of our traffic, is our home base and we work very closely with the airport.”

Simon Wheatley, manager UK of the major air charter broker Air Partner Private Jets says: “While we would encourage people to book their flights as early as possible if they plan to attend the Olympics, particularly in view of airport congestion and slot delay forecasts, many private jet users can't or don't want to do so.

“It is precisely the speed of response and flexibility afforded by private jet travel that attracts them to this mode of transport. So rather than tell the client what they should do differently this summer, at Air Partner we asked ourselves what we should do differently.

“With this in mind, a team from Air Partner Ops24, our specialist 24-hour flight planning service, has travelled the length and breadth of the UK to understand the issues raised by the

London Olympics 2012: Venues, airports and airspace restrictions.

unique operating environment during the Olympics from those in the know. They have been visiting airports, operators and handling agents all winter to discuss slot availability, turnaround times, aircraft parking, possible weather contingencies, diversion strategies – every possible private jet issue and scenario has been investigated. The result is a thoroughly researched database and directory of personal contacts which together represent an invaluable resource and a key advantage.”

And when the airport slots have all gone?

Aerial view showing a section of the Olympic Stadium. Copyright ODA.

Provincial airports around the UK will be hoping to pick up on overflow traffic at the height of the season.

Nick Cavell, airport manager at Gamston, some 150 miles away from the Olympic village, thinks he might be able to offer an option for the all

too late requests to bring aircraft to the UK. “It is no secret that the issues are not necessarily slots to get into the London fields but parking. This is where I feel we could be a solution to some operators,” he says.

“We have a 1,683m runway and can take aircraft up to 25 tonnes in weight and a relatively short hop (about 20 minutes) gets you here from London. We have a one minute taxi time to/from the active runway.

“My thinking is that operators could position the passengers into London, re-position the aircraft to Gamston, shut down and park the aircraft and then if required, crew could be on a train from Retford station into London, journey time about one hour 40 minutes. My boss has his own security team that could be detailed to be at Gamston on a 24-hour basis and we also have full CCTV that is monitored continuously, by ex-Ghurkas, paras and commandos.” ■

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Red tape and high costs are doing little to dampen Russia’s growing charter market, with operators reporting already positive business levels growing steadily. The costs and paperwork required to base an aircraft in Russia mean that many operators from further afield are benefiting from requests from clients seeking to fly in and out of the country.

Comlux opened its office in Moscow in 2004 and, at the end of January, a brand new Airbus ACJ319 joined the fleet based there. The aircraft, available on the vip charter market, is the sixth one managed and operated by Fly Comlux in its Russian fleet that also includes an ACJ318, two Global XRS, a Global 5000 and a Challenger 605.

Russian customers travel to the US, Europe and Middle East, reports the company, with typical destinations from Moscow being New York, Dubai, Geneva and London.

Andrea Zanetto, Fly Comlux ceo, says of its latest fleet addition: “Together with our ACJ318 already based in Moscow, the ACJ319 offers a luxurious flying experience for our clientele in Russia, CIS countries and the Middle East region”.

An already buoyant market is on the up, according to managing director of London Executive Aviation George Galanopoulos: “Russia is indisputably already a major market for business aviation and demand is constantly increasing.

“With LEA, for example, we have an Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft based between Moscow and London, and we also positioned another Legacy 600 in Moscow, purely available for charter, between November 2011 and January this year. The result was an encouragingly busy aircraft.”

Galanopoulos feels that handling facilities in Russia have improved over the past few years, but adds: “There is no denying bureaucracy remains a barrier to the potential rapid growth of business aviation in the country. Enormous amounts of red tape mean, for example, flight crews can take an hour to be processed from the airfield entrance to the aircraft.” The problem rests with the system, not the staff though, suggests Galanopoulos, as LEA finds the Russian handling teams are always eager to help.

“One other inhibitor to the growth of business aviation in Russia is that the industry’s costs are extremely high, driven not only by the rising levels of demand but also by the large number of monopolies.”

Russia’s infrastructure idiosyncrasies present a challenge that successful operators face and overcome on a daily basis.

Dan Rusu, asset manager at MJET, says: “We do have aircraft based in Russia and ensuring a high efficiency of operation in conditions of limited infrastructure that are specific to

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Vipport’s business terminal at Vnukovo-3.

RUSSIAN REGIONAL REVIEW Russia, Ukraine and other CIS countries is something our company does every day.

“Facilities are improving, but slowly, mainly due to a lack of competition and the complicated environment,” he says. “We fly regularly out of Vnukovo, Pulkovo, Yekaterinburg and Sochi. Far East destinations are also not uncommon.”

Sergei Nikiforov reports that Ukraine-based Challenge Aero has opened a new office in Moscow. It has four aircraft based in Moscow, St Petersburg and Krasnodar, all used solely by the owners. Of operating in Russia he says: “Russian airports are improving but prices are unbelievable. They are so high, because a monopoly is formed in each airport, and then the prices are increased.”

Elena Shevchenko in Challenge Aero’s sales department reports that the main issue with Russian flights is getting permission, or slots if the flight is to or from Vnukovo.

Shevchenko adds to the list: “Very expensive airport fees, handling costs and of course cabotage.

“The most popular destinations are Moscow, Krasnodar, Sochi, Rostov, for customers including businessmen and governors.”

Omni of Portugal has a Challenger 300 based in Russia for a sole client operation. Pedro Caneira says that Moscow, and Russia in general, are only a small section of the many destinations the company flies to regularly.

“Generally we manage to operate without stress,” he says of working within Russia. “The major problem is the cost for the ground services. And the usual last minute stress with landing permits and late changes to the flight plans.”

Turkish company Borajet does not have an aircraft based in Russia but carries out regular flights there. “We do fly very often to Russia with 99 per cent Russian passengers,” explains Merve Ozcan.

“The unusual procedures, prices at the airports (especially Vnukovo) and de-icing costs during winter time give rise to difficulties.”

Borajet’s experience is that flight enquiries increase during December and January before decreasing briefly through February and March.

Ozcan says: “I have noticed that they try to generate competitors to the main handling companies in Russia, and as soon as they build new handling companies and generate competition, it will both reflect in the prices and quality of services.”

Discussing the company’s plans in general, Ozcan says: “Borajet is a

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

APRIL 2012 13

CHARTER BROKER NEWS...

No job is too difficult, according to start-up broker Chartersphere.

Unusual airlift for Chartersphere brings thousands of cattle to Russian ranch It has been a case of no job proving too difficult for a start-up charter specialist that has continued to grow operations around the world over the past six months.

Broker Chartersphere made international headlines when it completed an unusual airlift, bringing in 2,400 head of cattle to a

powerful airline company in Turkey, conducting domestic flights as well as our international operations with our Global Express XRS. We are more on the private side of the market since we've received the Global Express but are looking to improve our commercial side and get in more touch with the current markets nowadays.”

European Air Ambulance reports increased demand for medical flights from and to Russia, with the majority of requests for Moscow and St Petersburg, although requests for more remote places are growing.

“The requests from Russia are usually for employees of international corporations working there as expatriates,” says sales and marketing director Patrick Schomaker.

“Requests to Russia are coming from an increasing number of people going on holidays abroad and, after an accident or medical incident, needing to be flown back home on an ambulance aircraft.

“Due to this demand, we have organised yearly visas for all our pilots to be able to reduce the time needed when starting a mission to fly a patient.”

Andy Barlow of Eastern Airways has fond memories of Russia, having lived there for a time and gaining a Russian degree, but he admits it is not the easiest place to access as an operator. “It is out of range from the UK in the majority of cases – certainly Moscow is, so we have only limited operations. We operated a few flights last year with music groups and will be doing that again this year.”

On the thorny subject of costs, Barlow says: “Fees for everything in Moscow and Pulkovo airports are astronomical and although the handling can be OK, you never really know what you're going to pay, especially for any kind of VIP service.

“Our flights there have been during tours (so maybe PolandRussia-Finland for example), otherwise we don't go overboard with this market!”

Another operator reporting a somewhat negative experience of Russian protocols is Captain

new $18m state-backed ranch in the Voronezh region of southern Russia.

The vast farm was set up by a US beef herder in a bid to improve the quality of meat in the booming Russian domestic food market.

Chartersphere arranged six flights using a Boeing 747-400F transporting 400 cattle at a time from the

Andrea Zanetto’s Comlux has positioned the latest Airbus business jets in Moscow.

Massimo Bernucci of Icaro Aerotaxi, who says: “We do not have any aircraft based in Russia, although we flew into Moscow Sheremetyevo three months ago from Italy.

“The service has always been the same over the last eight years, waiting hours for fuel, no hangar space when snowing and the surprise was that we receiving the bill after 15 days and for a small Citation II (with two passengers and one overnight stop) it was about €5,000! The usual cost in Europe for the same aircraft is €300 or less.”

“Sometimes we need visas for the crew upon arrival that are normally free (due to the job) and in Moscow these cost €500 for each pilot.”

A typical customer for Icaro would be those flying in for business and, in summer, Russians flying to Italy for holidays, however one flight was particularly memorable, carrying the ex-President Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife Raisa Gorbachova in 2004.

“Before departure from Italy we had sniffer dogs on board that checks for bombs. I think this is the best security procedure,” he says.

Medic-Air provides skilled medical and aeromedical services from its Paris and Shanghai operations and the company’s Herve Raffin reports on its efforts to supply medevac in Russia: “We had a very bad experience trying to provide medical services of a

US. Managing director Paul Bennett said: “This was just one of a number of challenges that the company has successfully completed in the last year. These include doubling the number of staff and moving to larger office facilities that will provide our highly motivated team of brokers with a great working environment.”

high level to a Russian assistance company, belonging to a major French insurance broker, and we stopped our collaboration.

“At this moment we have no reliable aircraft provider in Russia, but from Paris we can fly non-stop easily to Moscow or St Petersburg with our Falcon 50 or fly over Russia to go to China or Japan.”

With aircraft based just one hour 40 minutes away from Moscow in Helsinki, Jetflite does not feel the need to base one in Russia. Lija Montonen says: “The demand for charter flights in Russia depends on the public holidays; we had good results at the beginning of January because of the high demand of destination such as the Caribbean and Maldives. This year we were surprised that Womens’ Day on March 8th, which is a Russian public holiday, caused high demand in charter flights for ski resorts like Chambery, Samedan, and weekends in Paris. These flights were organised to celebrate women in particular, with lots of champagne and flowers on board.”

Jetflite’s next anticipated high season is the end of March/beginning of April, this time to Dubai as an attractive option for spring holidays.

“Mostly business people with their families, sports celebrities and singers use our aircraft,” reports Montonen. As for the problems of flying in Russia, Montonen makes particular mention that the company has taken the decision to stop flying Continued on next page

ACI extends SkySearch to third parties

Hunt & Palmer sees growth in India...

Air Charter International, the Dubai-based aircraft charter company, has launched its SkySearch Universal Portal, which offers indicative air charter quotes based on the latest market rates for business jet services worldwide.

The white-labelled product, which can be integrated into a customer’s web site, enables third party companies to win new business and generate income by selling charter flights through their own dedicated sites. This is the first time the application has been available to the wider travel market as a customised product.

Stuart Wheeler, ceo of ACI says: “Charter operators do not have to pay a fee to be listed on the database resulting in more available aircraft in the SkySearch pool. We really believe that this will revolutionise the B2B market of air chartering; and comprehensive information will be increasingly available to a wider range of users and end customers.”

Charter broker Hunt & Palmer is looking to its operation in India for future growth as the country shows an increase in the number of private jets purchased, and a rise in demand for private air charter.

Many of the 140 private jets in India are currently owned by businesses and are used to jet executives around the country and abroad. Due to the sheer expanse of the country executives have come to prefer the convenience that air charter provides particularly to reach the regions with limited transport infrastructure.

Jamie Martin, director, says: “Our operations in Asia have performed well over the past year.

The trends show that India is beginning to show a slow but definite growth and interest in air charter, particularly private jet charter, not just from the country’s growing number of millionaires but also corporate executives who have a growing need to visit offices and factories across India.”

Hunt & Palmer has also announced preliminary results for 2011 that indicate a significant increase in both turnover and profitability for the group.

BACA chairman wins new term Dick Gilbert, chairman of the Baltic Air Charter Association for the past three years, has been re-elected for another year.

Gilbert reports that BACA has reached record membership, including a growing number of members based outside the UK and Europe: “We continue to attract a wide range of companies and organisations as we all seek to maintain the highest standards in the air charter industry."

Now retired, Gilbert has been in the aviation business since 1965.

He founded charter broker Skyline Aviation in 1991.

Real takes Global initiative Swiss charter broker Real Executive, which has its own AOC operating sister organisation in Germany under the name Mister Jet, has taken commercial responsibility for a Global Express on behalf of its owner during March.

The company also has a new web site at www.realexecutive.aero, reports chief executive Mauricio D.

... and ACS expands into Mumbai Air Charter Service has opened its first Indian office, in Mumbai.

Managing director Tony Bauckham comments: "India is a huge emerging market and the ninth largest economy in the world. We have been planning this office opening for some time now as we already have a strong client base here and felt that a local presence was essential to further grow our market share.

Tracy D’Cruz of ACS's Dubai office is director and a team of experienced local staff have been training in the London and Dubai offices over the past year.

Air Charter Service has already added to its Spanish operation with new offices in Madrid this year, and has plans for further worldwide expansion in 2012.

Air Partner profits dip Air Partner revenue and profits fell in the half year to January 31st Jan 2012. Overcapacity in the commercial jet broking sector resulted in lower trading levels, against a strong comparable period. However, the private jet broking division saw some good international client wins, as earlier investment in sales started to produce results.

Richard Everitt, chairman says: “Lead times across the business remain short, meaning that visibility of forward bookings is limited, even for the major sporting and cultural events expected this summer.”

Tony Bauckham is looking for opportunities to expand ACS overseas.

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

14 APRIL 2012

RUSSIAN REGIONAL REVIEW Continued from preceding page

cabotage flight within Russia and, once again, slot issue at Vnukovo airport can be problematic.

But Montonen does feel that handlers and airport facilities are improving every day, although the prices of such services are rising accordingly.

“The most challenging flights in Russia? I can say that there have been many of them, but in particular I should mention that we experienced problems with customs at Sochi airport. We have not been allowed to fly Sochi to Moscow directly because of the cabotage issues. After that incident we decided to stop flying internally within Russia.”

Finding the Russian market buoyant, and on the increase, is Marcel Wepfer of Zurich-based Premium Jet. Although not based in Russia, the company makes regular trips there.

By far the most popular destination is Moscow, with Vnukovo

A luxurious Airbus ACJ319 has joined the Comlux fleet in Moscow.

being Moscow’s most popular airport, followed by Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo, then St Petersburg and Krasnodar. Corporate clients and Russians living abroad make up large proportion of Premium Jet’s Russian clientele, although Wepfer says: “Most of the time do not know the reason why someone needs to go somewhere.”

Focusing on the standard of Russian airport/handler facilities, Wepfer says: “Maybe I should knock on wood, but we have had no bad experiences in Moscow or elsewhere in Russia so far – or at least not worse than elsewhere.”

But it is the same story for Premium Jet regarding costs: “Everything is just far too expensive,” he says. “But that has simply to do with demand and supply and everyone else would do the same, if one could.”

Wepfer’s most challenging flight into Russia was flying from Kiev to Moscow in an old Boeing 767 operated by Transaero: “Definitely something I would try to avoid in the future…”

With bases at Doha and Biggin Hill, Rizon Jet operates to Russia more or less monthly but sees more demand for Kazakhstan, where it used to have an aircraft based. Simon D’Oyly, director of sales and aircraft management, says: “Generally speaking, most of our Russia requests tend to be operating from Russia to Dubai, as opposed to inbound Russian business traffic.”

D’Oyly singles out tech support as a major issue for those flying in Russia, saying: “The biggest challenge is the issue of maintenance support through Moscow, especially if the aircraft has any sort of technical problem that requires communication with the aviation authority as this is a timeconsuming process.”

Gaby Hoffmann, junior marketing manager at Jet-Link, Switzerland, says: “We do not have many enquires into

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George Galanopoulos of London Executive Aviation has located a Legacy in Moscow, but still feels that local bureaucracy is a challenge.

Russia, but we have noticed a considerable increase of flight enquires from Russia, even though we do not have any aircraft based there. Over the past six months we had quite a few bookings out of Russia, mainly from the Moscow area but also out of Siberia.”

One Russian airport is at the cutting-edge in providing its users

with the latest real-time information.

Known as VIS (Vipport information service), it allows real-time tracking of aircraft ground handling status at Vnukovo-3 airport, such as flight status, ground handling, passengers and baggage handling. “One of the most important advantages of the system is the ability to get actual current flight information

remotely,” says FBO operator Vipport’s Anna Kislova. “Also, you are able to see the volume of services provided for your flight.”

Vnukovo-3 is considered to be the biggest and the busiest airport for business aviation in eastern Europe.

Much investment has seen Vnukovo3 become a highly developed airport with its own operational apron and a full set of technical equipment and machinery.

Two terminals serve up to 100 passengers an hour with around 40,000 movements handled each year. “As we have all necessary facilities for a comfortable stay, lots of businessmen who really appreciate their time and comfort choose Vnukovo-3 airport,” says Kislova. The FBO integrates the services of all companies at the airport into a complete ground and passenger handling package designed to offer quality and convenience to the growing number of private, corporate and governmental aircraft operators using the airport. Nineteen hangars are able to accommodate about 60 aircraft of all types.

Marking the continuing tendency for Russian owners to choose western-built aircraft types, Cessna is celebrating an order for 15 Grand Caravans from Russian state transport leasing company Gosudarstvennaya Transportnaya Lizingovaya Kompaniya (GTLK).

INDUSTRY NEWS...

Pro Line Fusion takes flight Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics system has entered service as part of Bombardier’s Vision Flight Deck on Global aircraft.

Pro Line Fusion integrates and displays essential flight information through empowering, graphically rich interfaces, including highintegrity head-up guidance featuring synthetic and enhanced vision, and the industry’s largest format LCD primary flight displays (15 inch).

This first delivery is on a Global 5000. The first delivery of a Global 6000 aircraft featuring the Pro Line Fusion is expected in the coming weeks.

TBM 850 Elite offers flexible seating Daher-Socata has unveiled the TBM 850 Elite, the 2012 model year version. Its most distinctive attribute is the capability of its middle seats to be positioned in either the rearward or forwardfacing position. This new configuration provides extended cargo space to accommodate outsized baggage.

Other new features include new carbon fibre trim in the central upper panel, table cover exterior insert and cabinet door cover, along with gold and brush metal treatment on interior fittings.

Diamond to provide unleaded DA42 option Diamond Aircraft is pursuing certification of unleaded fuel operation for its gasoline powered models, starting with the popular Lycoming powered versions of the DA42 twin. Diamond’s approach is to offer its customers a choice of powerplant solutions and environmentally responsible fuel options to support individual preferences and region specific needs.

recently added Level D qualified simulators at Dallas for the Falcon 7X and Eurocopter EC135.

Simulators for the Pilatus PC-12 NG and Gulfstream G280, Gulfstream G450, and Gulfstream G550 will be installed later this year.

Boutsen Design on show in Europe After a successful launches at shows in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Daniela Boutsen will bring the Boutsen Design exhibit to Europe, at Hamburg’s Aircraft Interiors Expo, from March 27th to 29th.

Boutsen’s proprietary intranet system provides information to all clients that includes sourcing of items for easy and matched replacement, as well as logistical necessities such as all items’ weights – even cleaning instructions.

Falcon M&O set for Rome and Geneva Dassault Falcon regional M&O seminars have been announced for March 21 in Rome and April 4 in Geneva. The events focus both on operational and technical issues and are designed to help aircraft operators improve the efficiency, reliability and safety of their operations.

Matrix and Mirage aircraft. All DFC90s and DFC100s also provide the safety enhancement of the ‘Straight & Level’ button which provides one-button unusual attitude recovery.

Owners of European-registered PA-46 aircraft can now upgrade to the DFC90 if they have the original Entegra suite, or they can add the DFC100 if they have already upgraded to the Avidyne Entegra Release 9 flight deck.

M2 makes first flight Cessna’s new Citation M2, announced less than six months ago, has made its first prototype flight. The flight lasted a little more than an hour and a half and included tests of the avionics , autopilot, engine system, aircraft systems and instrument approaches. FAA certification (Part 23) is expected in the first half of 2013, followed by deliveries in the second half of 2013.

Djokovic serves as Learjet ambassador

Top-ranked champion Novak Djokovic has become a Learjet brand ambassador. “Speed, agility, performance and efficiency are key attributes that Novak Djokovic and Learjet aircraft have in common,” Winglets reduce Falcon said Steve Ridolfi, president of 900 drag Bombardier Business Aircraft. “His passion for winning, outspoken Aviation Partners has received as EASA STC for its high Mach blended personality and natural ability to inspire people make him an ideal winglets on Falcon 900 series ambassador for the Learjet brand.” aircraft. Certification follows a two“Flying on Bombardier aircraft year development program and allows me to balance my extensive flight testing, and comes on the heels of a similar certification for the travel schedule with the rigorous demands of playing on the ATP tour Falcon 2000. The Falcon 50 will be next. The winglets are optimised for and all the public appearances in higher cruise speeds, providing drag between,” says Djokovic. “I’ve been reduction, and corresponding range a Learjet fan for many years; they’re increase, of five per cent at Mach .80 fantastic planes.” and more than seven per cent at G280 earns provisional type long range cruise.

FSI expands sim fleet

Autopilot approved for Matrix

FlightSafety International’s Dallesbased Falcon 900 EASy simulator has received Level D qualification from EASA. The company has also

Avidyne has received EASA approval of the DFC90 and DFC100 digital autopilots for installation in European-registered Piper PA-46

certificate

The Gulfstream G280 has received a provisional type certificate from the FAA, ahead of an update to the software for the aircraft’s avionics which will allow full type certification later this year.

EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS

Seven will be delivered this year and eight in 2013, with options for 15 more Grand Caravans to be delivered in the future. GTLK will be leasing the aircraft on a subsidised basis to local operators as part of a government initiative announced in January this year to improve local aviation services.

Pana Poulios, Cessna’s European sales director for propeller aircraft, says: “We’re delighted to have GTLK as a customer. Grand Caravans are ideal for Russia – reliable, fast, versatile and very economical, with low maintenance requirements. This order is a very important step forward for the Grand Caravan in Russia.”

Poulios continues: “We are seeing a large, and growing, demand for Caravans across the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). We have delivered three to the region and are in the process of delivering three to Siberia, plus one to Kazakhstan.

“Enquiries are picking up on a daily basis throughout the CIS. Some operators are looking to expand while other operators need to replace an ageing fleet.

Economically, the situation in the CIS is improving all the time. We’re very pleased the Russian government is supporting aviation with subsidised leasing and Cessna Finance Corporation is assisting by offering lease contracts and/or financing to CIS operators.”

Despite the recent inroads made by western aircraft manufacturers, many Russian native charter operators remain reliant on the converted Russian-built airliners for the mainstay of their fleets. Some are upgrading these with modern technologies, as is the case with one vip-configured Tupolev jet that is now flying with the ability for passengers to use their mobile devices for calls, text messaging, email and to access the Internet courtesy of Scandinavian Avionics.

The company is acting as an integrator and distributor of the OnAir/TriaGnoSys inflight connectivity solution. Sergei Avvakumov, division manager of Scandinavian Avionics, says: “The process of equipping the first aircraft with the OnAir/TriaGnoSys solution was very straightforward and incredibly fast.”

The small, lightweight and flexible solution is available for a full range of jets. For the first customer, it was integrated to the Thrane & Thrane A700 system, but has the flexibility to be used with any SwiftBroadband, Ku- or Ka-band satcom system. ■

APRIL 2012 15

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2004, 2004 S/N 5060, 3,181 hours TTAF. Engines on RRCC. Airshow 4000, Honeywell Planeview w/HUD, EVS and Synthetic Vision. Honeywell 702 high speed data system. Forward crew rest area. Aft full service galley. Call for pricing.

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Part 66 engineer We are looking for a Part 66 engineer with MD Helicopters (all models) experience. responsible for the certifying staff. Mainland Europe based Part 145 facility.

Please reply in strictest confidence to box25@ebanmagazine.com

SIKORSKY

OUR NEXT ISSUE:

S76B 1986, N139CC, Airframe hours: 2,364.9.

Single pilot IFR. Refurbished 2007 including new sound system with 5 Bose Airmen X headsets. Aux fuel tanks.

Optional Honeywell and L3 avionics added 2007. No damage history. Tel: +1 702 260 3333 Aircraft Marketing Ltd.. Web: www.aircraftmarketing.com. Email: info@aircraftmarketing.com

MAY 2012

FINAL BOOKING DATE: APRIL 23rd

Citation S/II

CRJ 200LR 2001, D-ACRN, S/N 7486. EU-OPS 1.

Available for sale or lease. 19,302 hours. CCheck 9/2010. 50 pax interior configuration w/aft lav. and class divider.

Contact: Thierry Huguenin. Tel: +49 911 36009 375 or +1 561 771 1322 FAI rent-ajet AG. Web: www.rent-a-jet.de. Email: JetSales@fai.ag

1985, Airframe TT: 8,576, Cycles: 6,755, TSO: 1,304, Pro Line II, GNS-XLS, GPWS, CVR. New windows 2007, RVSM, Freon air, cosmetics refreshed & Perma-guarded.

Looking for offers. +1 403 291 9027 John Hopkinson & Associates. Web: www.hopkinsonassociates.com. Email: sales@hopkinsonassociates.com

WE HELP AVIATION SALES PROFESSIONALS GENERATE DEALS

Citation Ultra Global Express D-AFAM, Entry into service in 2000, S/N 9028 | EU-OPS 1. Available for sale or lease. 4,723 hours. Smart Parts Plus, R/R Corporate Care. To be delivered with new interior including woodwork and fresh 8C inspection. 14 pax + 2-seat crew rest area configuration. Forward and aft lav.

Contact: Thierry Huguenin. Tel: +49 911 36009 375 or +1 561 771 1322 FAI rent-ajet AG. Web: www.rent-a-jet.de. Email: JetSales@fai.ag

Citation Ultras available. Honeywell Primus 1000 3-Tube EFIS, Honeywell GNS-XLS FMS, Honeywell MKVII EGPWS, Honeywell TCAS II w/Change 7, w/ski tube. Recently Permaguard. Recently refreshed interior. Fresh phase 1-5. One year cescom enrollment. Zero engine option. Tel: +1 403 291 9027 John Hopkinson & Associates. Web: www.hopkinsonassociates.com. Email: sales@hopkinsonassociates.com

DASSAULT

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Comprehensive Russian data online free-of-charge The 2011/12 EBAN Handbook of Business Aviation in Europe is out now, and gives details of many more Russian charter operators.

It also lists business aviation facilities and services including airports, FBOs and maintenance centres.

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

2006, 2006. S/N 9203, 1,698 TTAF. Excellent pedigree and condition. RRCC. HUD/EVS/triple FMS. High speed data with wireless LAN. Tailwind 500 satellite TV. CES (Collins) software 7 upgrade. High service bulletin compliance. Asking $41M. Watch a video about this exciting aircraft on our web site. Tel: 800 671 6766 or +1 303 444 6766 J. Mesinger Corp Jet Sales, Inc. Web: www.jetsales.com. Email: sales@jetsales.com

to meet every business need

Falcon 2000EX EASy 2005, 2005 S/N 57, 5,454 hours TTAF. Engines on JSSI (100%). EASy Step 3, HUD, Triple FMS, FDR. 10 passenger configuration. Beautiful paint and interior. Price reduced: Now $15,250,000 USD. Watch a video and read a blog post about this exciting aircraft on our website.

Contact: Tel: +1 303 444 6766 J. Mesinger Corp Jet Sales, Inc.. Web: www.jetsales.com. Email: sales@jetsales.com

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Learjet 55C

Falcon 900DX EASy

1989, D-CFAZ, S/N 136. EU-OPS 1.

Available for sale or lease. 6,996 hours.

MSP-Gold. Extended fuel capacity to 7705 lbs. Delta Fins. 7 pax configuration. 4 single-seats and private lavatory. Contact: Thierry Huguenin. Te: +49 911 36009 375 or +1 561 771 1322 FAI rent-a-jet AG. Web: www.rent-a-jet.de . Email: JetSales@fai.ag

2009, D-AMIG, 2009, S/N 623 | EU-OPS 1.

Available for sale or lease. 1,983 hours.

Head Up Guidance System, FalconCare and MSP-Gold. 14 pax configuration.

Forward and Aft Lav. Contact: Thierry Huguenin. Tel:+49 911 36009 375 or +1 561 771 1322 FAI rent-a-jet AG. Web: www.rent-a-jet.de. Email: JetSales@fai.ag

Information that moves you forward

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WHAT PART OF ‘ORIGINAL’ DON’T THE OTHER GUYS UNDERSTAND?

HAWKER XP R: THE ONLY 400 AND 800 UPGRADE WITH FULL FACTORY SUPPORT. The only upgrade that makes sense comes straight from the OEM. Not just more power and longer range, but lower cost of operations. The other guys make a lot of claims that are not factory supported. XPR is the only substantial upgrade designed, engineered and supported by the factory that built your aircraft. Hawker XPR gives you brand new propulsion, Genuine Hawker™ winglets, avionics and a custom-designed interior. Upgrade your current aircraft or order it ready-to-fly.

Just be sure it’s still a Hawker. XPR.HawkerBeechcraft.com

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