Business aviation bursting to bubble

Ideal building block: The Embraer Phenom 300. Picture Anap Jets.

Anap Jets, founded in 2014 by Nigerian banker and entrepreneur, Atedo Peterside, has adopted Air Maestro management software to run its growing business.

Air Maestro is cloud-based aviation software managing all aspects, including rosters, flight records, incident/accident reports, flight/duty/fatigue limits, audit, recency and check forms. It was created by Avinet and is managed across Africa and the Middle East by Cairn Aviation.

Anap Jets started with a single Embraer Phenom 300, adding another Phenom 300 and a Legacy 600 as it grew.

Business owner, Peterside, believes the Phenom 300’s range, of nearly 2,000nm, is ideal for regional flights for a variety of VIP and corporate clients travelling around north-west and central Africa.

Meanwhile, ExecuJet Africa, part of the Luxaviation Group, has restarted aircraft sales and acquisitions following an increase in demand from current clients.

Gavin Kiggen, vice president Africa at ExecuJet, said: “After a challenging 2020, we’re very excited to be back in the sales business and able to provide our clients with support and expertise in aircraft sales and acquisitions. We had an immediate positive response to our return, and we are already engaged in acquisition conversations with potential new owners from around the world.

“Our experienced team and global footprint mean we have been able to respond to the uptick in enquiries successfully. We can provide our clients with the very best inventory and support them from start to finish, whether it be their first aircraft or an upgrade.”

ExecuJet’s sales team can identify aircraft, offer independent, unbiased assessments and market intelligence, negotiate prices, handle pre-purchase checks, training, ongoing management and charter options.

Kiggen continued: “Our current clients are looking to either upgrade or find a newer type. We are dealing with a broad range of aircraft, from turboprops through to long-haul aircraft, such as the Bombardier Global 6000.

“Some clients need to travel at short notice within their own region, while others are looking for aircraft that will safely take them further afield with their family bubble.”

Staying safe during the Covid-19 pandemic is key issue for business aviation, with many passengers opting for a charter flight – but only if they can be sure of their health.

One solution chosen by Luxaviation is the FlySkills hygiene certification (FHC) programme, which is being implemented across the group’s regional operators, as well as its fixed-base operations (FBOs), managed by ExecuJet.

FHC confirms that defined and accredited hygiene standards are being met by FBOs, aircraft owners and operators.

Luxaviation Group’s ExecuJet FBOs now certified by FHC include Cape Town, and Lanseria/Johannesburg (South Africa), Melbourne and Sydney (Australia), Bali (Indonesia), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Barcelona, Gerona, Ibiza and Valencia (Spain), Brussels (Belgium), Istanbul (Turkey) and Zürich (Switzerland).

ExecuJet Africa’s state-of-the-art facility in Nigeria is located at Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The FBO offers maintenance, charter, and aircraft management services.

Alongside the FBOs, many of Luxaviation Group’s private jet charter operators globally, from Australia to Germany and from the Middle East to France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, are also now certified by the FlySkills hygiene programme. Only certified aircraft, operators and FBOs are listed in the FHC database, available to charter brokers and dispatch departments.

Robert Fisch, co-president, aviation services, Luxaviation Group, said: “As we hope and plan for private jet flight demand to surge again in 2021, we are doing everything we can to guarantee our clients the safest possible travel experience, in the air and across our FBOs.”

Dave Calderwood reports.