Lynton Aviation is to purchase eight new aircraft from Raytheon Aircraft, including four Premier 1s, one King Air B200, one King Air C90B and two Baron B58 aircraft. The agreement, according to Lynton, was confirmed last month. Christopher Tennant, Lynton's chief executive officer, said of the new aircraft: "The propeller aeroplanes will be in operation in the next six months. Regarding the Premier 1s, we've got three coming next year, the first of which should arrive around May/June of 2000. Of course this is a tentative date as the aircraft is not yet certified."\rChristopher Tennant spoke to EBAN firstly about his company's choice of aircraft. He said: "We were given a relatively open book as to what we could order and all those orders are for aeroplanes that are forward sold, so they're not speculative orders."\rOf the Premier 1, he said: "It is a new product which is going to be - if it is as described in the papers - an outstanding product. The statistics of the first flying aeroplanes certainly seem to bear out their claims." Regarding the Premier 1's target market, Tennant explained: "If one wants to take a grouping of people, the existing Citation Jet owners have shown the greatest interest - given that it is faster, has a bigger cabin and a lower operating cost."\rIn keeping with a closer relationship between the two companies, Raytheon has awarded a three-year exclusive term contract to Lynton Aviation to represent Beech propeller driven aircraft in the UK. In addition, Lynton says it is soon to be appointed by Raytheon as a sales representative for the Hawker, Beechjet, Premier 1 and Horizon jet products, also in the UK.\rKarl Childs, vp sales and marketing for Raytheon, said: "We are excited by the opportunity of this relationship and such a substantial order for aircraft is obviously a sign of a long-term commitment." Christopher Tennant explained to EBAN what he believed was behind Raytheon's choice of Lynton. He said: "I think there's some history behind it. Firstly, the company we acquired, Air Hanson, was their agent for the propeller aeroplanes. So there's continuity there, even if it's more the service operation than the sales operation. "Secondly, we have been prepared to make an order and make a commitment so if I was them, I suppose we're as good an opportunity as anybody. There are plenty of people who will sell aeroplanes in the UK but there aren't that many who have a major commitment to installations and heavy maintenance. And we're probably the only one that fills both those categories."\rLooking on the flip side of the coin, EBAN asked Tennant what Lynton Aviation has to gain from Raytheon. He explained: "Our projections would indicate a very good profit operation for the Beechcraft franchise and new products coming along on paper are highly desirable products. "There aren't many aircraft manufacturers today that have a franchising system. Most of them do it themselves. To have a product that extends from a Bonanza for $600,000 up to a Horizon for $15.8 million - in this year's dollars - with a full range in between, is a very unique opportunity in today's marketing world. \r"So, they have a good range that appeals all the way up through the market and there is a good indication that people who start at the bottom of the range trade up through their aircraft ownership life, and from our point of view, the arrival of the new jet products is probably the most exciting part of it.\r"After all, it's no secret that the more expensive aeroplanes are, the more profitable they are to sell."