PrivatAir is in discussions with a number of major airlines regarding the launch of more scheduled services similar to the one recently embarked upon by Lufthansa and the Swiss operator.

Since June, PrivatAir has been leasing one of its three BBJs to Lufthansa for non-stop flights between Dusseldorf and New York. It is the first time an airline has introduced a business jet on a long haul flight.

PrivatAir’s marketing director Dave Kinson told EBAN: “We’re talking to the majors, and we also see interest coming from the leisure market. The idea is that we’d be doing slightly more expensive package holidays – for lack of a better word – in a business-class style. Basically bridging the gap between commercial airline travel and business aviation.”

Asked whether PrivatAir’s existing relationship with Boeing means that the US manufacturer would be favoured over Airbus, Kinson said: “I think it would be easier for us but we’ve got to reflect what the potential market is. At the moment, of the people we’re talking to, it’s pretty much a 50/50 split.

“Traditionally PrivatAir has been seen as Boeing through and through but we certainly wouldn’t rule out other manufacturers. We’re an operator of aeroplanes and if a particular party has a predominance of Airbus products in their fleet, it actually helps if we go to Airbus for support etc.”

In terms of geography, PrivatAir says interest has come from far and wide and is certainly not restricted

to transatlantic travel. “Africa’s interesting to a number of parties, in particular the Ivory Coast region,” said Kinson. “We’re also talking to traditional long-haul operators in the Far East, for example Qantas and Singapore. The CIS area is also proving interesting.”

As far as the current deal with Lufthansa is concerned Kinson says it will last a year, after which time it will be reviewed. He said: “I think the service is doing better than they thought it would. The early indications are that it will do very well, particularly if you bear in mind that we’re into the quieter period of the year for business travellers.”

PrivatAir is currently celebrating its 25th year. After starting with a small Citation aircraft, the company has now been operating large airline type aeroplanes in a business aviation role for 22 years. Looking at the present day state of the industry, Kinson said: “All the external factors that are affecting aviation in general at the moment, from 9/11 to the stock market to the disarray in some large organisations, are also having an impact on business aviation globally.

“In return, business aviation is starting to impact on the airline industry with, for example, the Lufthansa deal. A lot of insiders in the industry are looking at what’s happening in the industry and trying to come up with the next NetJets, the next big deal. There’s a lot of activity from all the major players.”

‘A lot of insiders in the industry are trying to come up with the next Netjets, the next big deal’

One area of continued interest to operators and brokers is the internet. However, with the

demise of companies such as FlightTime.com, there is appre-hension towards fully embracing this medium purely for business purposes.

Kinson commented: “Internet distribution is something that we’re all looking at but don’t quite understand. From our point of view, a system that allows us to get to utopia – which is not having any empty legs – has got to be worth looking at. But whether it works or not is a different matter.

“We have to ask ourselves: ‘Is the selling of charter in business aviation still a personal service business? Do you still need that hotel concierge type thing or will the types of people who we traditionally sell to look on the internet?’ These questions still need to be answered.

“The internet is a great way of communicating who and what we are. We get an average of 10 to 12 quotation requests a day, purely through the internet. The type of people we’re flying, I still think they like the personal touch. It’s the comfort of knowing that they can phone someone when things go wrong and while the internet is something we continue to look at, our thinking keeps changing.”

With the approach of September 11, the microscope is once again firmly focused on aviation and how secure it is. Said Kinson: “Something simple we’ve done recently is to have bought a lot of security wands. We’ve always had some in Geneva and we’ve just got some in the States too.

“We received resistance about putting the wands in but sometimes it’s useful to have the wands in certain parts of the world when people are getting on and off aeroplanes.

“Security is tightening up. At Bridgeport – which is not a major airport – people have been asking

for ID cards so security is obviously appreciated even though it’s less convenient.”

At the present time, PrivatAir is hoping to re-negotiate a deal with the Rolling Stones, who have recently started touring in the US. Said Kinson: “We’re in the very early stages of looking at whether we can get the band back on the aeroplane.”