For a company which counts among its clients David Coulthard and Jackie Stewart, Prestwick-based Corporate Jets does not plan to stand still with the three Lear 60s which it currently operates on behalf of its growing customer-base. Speaking to EBAN at the mid-point of July, md Eric Cochrane explained: "A fourth Learjet 60, serial number 190, is being delivered in October. We have a sequence of orders of positions in for 60s and we're just looking at placing orders for Continentals.

"We take the view that the Continental lies halfway between the Lear 60 and the Challenger, but not halfway in price. So for another three million dollars of capital, you're getting the extra range, the extra cabin; it's performance is closer to that of the Challenger."

Cochrane said the customers have also shown an interest for this particular Bombardier product. He said: "We showed some clients the Continental mock-up and they were very impressed with it. The 60 has a usable IFR range of 2,300nm. With the Continental, we're expecting a wee bit over the 3,000. It's funny how it's those last few hundred miles that end up making a fuel stop necessary.

Of the Lear 60, clearly the preferred Bombardier product for Corporate Jets at this juncture, he said: "It has performance, reliability and comfort. We've been operating Lears for a lot of years; they've a build quality which we feel is superior to other planes. That particular cabin size seems to do everything that we want it to, a wee bit better than everything else."

Corporate Jets' Lear 60s are all configured to accommodate seven passengers comfortably. Said Cochrane: "The only real way you can alter the 60's configuration is to make it six and it doesn't seem that advantageous reducing your capacity."

Cochrane says that the company only has 16 customers at the moment, although he says, they are a broad mix and all take high utilisation of the aircraft. "Primarily our customers would own or operate their own aircraft but really don't have the utilisation to make it practical. Most of our clients' minimum usage is 150 hours per annum."

Cochrane added: "We do occasionally have to charter in from other operators when too many clients turn up on the same day, but that doesn't happen very often. Tragically, there was the time when we put David Coulthard on to the Northern Executive flight which was forced to make an emergency landing at Lyon Satolas."

Destinations for Corporate Jets' clients include Prague, Moscow, Naples, Jordan and Israel.

Corporate Jets was originally founded by Cochrane and his brother in 1996. It was a private operation, operating under a club scheme that they had devised, using American-registered aircraft. Cochrane said: "We're about a week away from all the planes going on the Irish register and it will be operating under an AOC. We will continue to operate in the same fashion but just to AOC rules and regulations."

Corporate Jets has two bases - a maintenance facility and hangar and operations base at Prestwick, and also an operations base in Dublin. Said Cochrane: "The Lear 60s tend not to be based anywhere; they come back to Prestwick for maintenance but they tend to stay wherever they end up. It's very rare for them not to be flying."

With an eye on the near future, he added: "The management of other people's aircraft is definitely an area that we're actively pursuing right now. We see that as one of the ways of expanding rapidly and we are talking to a number of owners about moving their aircraft onto the AOC and managing them on their behalf."

Corporate Jets employs 14 pilots and also operates a Lear 31A, primarily for the transportation of company personnel.