Amid a stream of manufacturer press conferences at this year's NBAA, Gold Air International, the Biggin Hill-based UK charter company, took to the floor to announce orders for an additional two Learjet 45s. Taking the company's spend to more than $40 million on this type, the orders come on the back of two previous firm orders for Lear 45s in April of this year. \rMichael Vaughan, GAI's chairman, said: "Much of our business is done with customers from the United States who typically use corporate jets in the USA and are often disappointed with the aircraft which are generally available in the European market area.\r"Taking account of the requirements for newer aircraft, American standards of service and an efficiency that equates well with in-house aviation departments, GAI decided to utilise its considerable resources to provide comprehensively for the needs of those discerning customers."\rIn an interview with European Business Air News, Will Curtis, GAI's managing director, said that he could now see a reduction of businesses in the London charter market because of the substantial costs which operators are having to face up to. He said: "There are a number of jet charter operators in the London area and some of them will find the pressure of the cost of EGPWS, TCAS II, of RVSM compliance, flight data recorders etc as too much. We think there will be some rationalisation of the industry in the London area."\rOf GAI's own dedication to safety issues, he said: "We're very committed to the safety angle. I don't think anybody who has not used a TCAS or a GPWS system can actually understand how much of a safety enhancement that equipment is. But once you've used it, you know that it is the minimum requirement." \rAt a time in which the 'gobbling up' of one company by another has become commonplace in global business markets, EBAN asked GAI whether corporate acquisitions were part of its immediate business plan. Vaughan said: "We are not currently pursuing corporate acquisitions as we believe that with the fleet that we've got, certainly in charter operations, we don't think we could add substantially to our fleet by acquiring other operators. We would keep an open mind with regard to maintenance as a possibility. We may even look to consider additions to the FBO to provide in-house services that we currently pay outside for."\rOne aspect in which Gold Air International is expanding its grasp, is in the area of simulator training. Curtis explained to EBAN: "We're aiming to get all our crews and all aircraft types simulator-trained in order that we don't have to do any aircraft training at all. You can practise scenarios that you could never ever practise in an aircraft."