newstodate.aero
Jun 05, 2018 (newstodate): The Danish aircraft broker Blackbird Air Charter is now seeing brisk business in sale of capacity on the single-engine Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.
Starting from this year, Blackbird has been contracted by Copenhagen Air Taxi to take responsibility for passenger sales and marketing of the carrier's four Pilatus PC-12, while Copenhagen Air Taxi is in charge of all operational issues.
-We did initially face some snags, mainly due to issues of shortage of pilot crews as we require two pilots in the cockpit, with an experienced pilot in the captain's seat. These issues have been solved and we are happy to say that all capacity is now sold out, boding well for the operation, says Ole Christiansen, Blackbird Air Charter CEO.
-One specific asset of this aircraft is its ability to operate at runways down to 1,000 meter which allows it to fly into smaller airports bypassing the congestion at most larger airports as well as coming even closer to customers' final destination.
-Given the shorter range of the PC-12, compared to larger corporate jet alternatives, we are focusing on continental European operations with the aircraft based in Roskilde Airport. From there, the aircraft may reach into destinations in for instance southern France, with options for operations from there into other destinations in Eastern and Central Europe as warranted by the market.
-The market for corporate, VIP and governmental flights is picking up steadily, and with the PC-12 capacity we are in a unique position to meet demands in various niche segments.
-With this successful entry into a new market, we are actually considering adding a fifth Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, either by Copenhagen Air Taxi or by Blackbird Air Charter itself, says Mr Christiansen.
After EASA's approval on March 1, 2017, of single-engine turbine aircraft for commercial operations in Europe, the PC-12 can now be operated commercially at night and under instrument flight rules across all 32 EASA member states.
The aircraft can seat six passenger in a VIP configuration, or eight passengers in standard commuter configuration.
Starting from this year, Blackbird has been contracted by Copenhagen Air Taxi to take responsibility for passenger sales and marketing of the carrier's four Pilatus PC-12, while Copenhagen Air Taxi is in charge of all operational issues.
-We did initially face some snags, mainly due to issues of shortage of pilot crews as we require two pilots in the cockpit, with an experienced pilot in the captain's seat. These issues have been solved and we are happy to say that all capacity is now sold out, boding well for the operation, says Ole Christiansen, Blackbird Air Charter CEO.
-One specific asset of this aircraft is its ability to operate at runways down to 1,000 meter which allows it to fly into smaller airports bypassing the congestion at most larger airports as well as coming even closer to customers' final destination.
-Given the shorter range of the PC-12, compared to larger corporate jet alternatives, we are focusing on continental European operations with the aircraft based in Roskilde Airport. From there, the aircraft may reach into destinations in for instance southern France, with options for operations from there into other destinations in Eastern and Central Europe as warranted by the market.
-The market for corporate, VIP and governmental flights is picking up steadily, and with the PC-12 capacity we are in a unique position to meet demands in various niche segments.
-With this successful entry into a new market, we are actually considering adding a fifth Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, either by Copenhagen Air Taxi or by Blackbird Air Charter itself, says Mr Christiansen.
After EASA's approval on March 1, 2017, of single-engine turbine aircraft for commercial operations in Europe, the PC-12 can now be operated commercially at night and under instrument flight rules across all 32 EASA member states.
The aircraft can seat six passenger in a VIP configuration, or eight passengers in standard commuter configuration.