News
Jet operator’s turnover takes off
[Eastern Daily Press] — An executive jet operator at Norwich International Airport is planning for business to take-off in 2010 after a £1m-plus investment in a new aircraft.
Saxonair has acquired a four-passenger Cessna Citation Mustang for $3m (£1.84m) – taking its fleet of jets to four.
Managing director Chris Mace said trade had dipped in the aftermath of the financial crisis last autumn, but passenger numbers had picked up markedly in recent months – with the firm now likely to increase turnover from £1.5m a year to close to £2.5m in the 2009-10 financial year.
The investment in the new aircraft follows a change of ownership. Previous owner Graeme Kalbraier sold the business to Lowestoft-based Klyne Aviation in May for an undisclosed sum.
Mr Mace said: "Business has been good. At the end of last year, things did quieten down – it was a concerning time – but this year there has been a progressive build-up and we’ve been busier and busier as the months have gone on.
"We’re up to the levels of charter before the recession kicked in.
"Hence the additional investment in aircraft and specifically different aircraft, such as the Citation Mustang, which is a much more cost effective aircraft for charter.
"The average passenger load on each charter is 2.4 people – so looking at the economics of it, this aircraft will fit very nicely into the private charter market. It’s the most economical private jet on the market.
"We’re finding that people are valuing their time a lot more and they need to have their people out of the office and at meetings for the least amount of time – this aircraft makes private charter more affordable."
Mr Mace added: "Turnover has been about £1.5m a year, with our new aircraft, we are looking at turnover over the next financial year (2009-10) of probably £2.5m.
"We’ve already picked up bookings for this aircraft and it’s only coming online this week, and because of the exchange rate we’re finding that people from other countries are using our services. So we’re positioning our aircraft over to Rotterdam and Brussels to take flights from there."
Mr Mace said about 15 staff worked for – or with – Saxonair, some of them on a freelance basis.
"Saxonair has employed two more staff in the last couple of months and we’ll be employing more in the coming months," he said.
Elliott Summers, managing director of Norwich International Airport, said: "We see the growth of Saxonair’s business as a substantial step forward for our regional airport, bringing further diversity to the offerings we have here.
"Saxonair’s investment in their new business jet demonstrates their commitment to meet local demand and we congratulate them on this latest expansion to their business."
