Silver Cloud Air, whose policy is to always order new aircraft, has invested in a second Sovereign C680 to service good business levels it expects to continue to rise in 2011.

Udo Maeyer, ceo, says: "Routings of the Sovereign will be mainly Europe, Middle East, and Africa although worldwide operation is also possible. We focus on the business sector but there is also demand from private clients."

He adds: "The Sovereign was chosen because it has good range and very good performance but also because of the positive experience we have enjoyed with our other Cessna aircraft which we have operated for years."

The company, founded in July 1994, has grown continuously since launching with one aircraft. The new Sovereign joins another C680, a CJ C525 and C525A and an XLS C560XL. Maeyer says the business is developing rapidly and Silver Cloud Air is recruiting experienced personnel for its sales department. "The year 2009 was not easy for the business aviation sector in general but the development of our business in 2010 was very good. We expect the year 2011 to follow this upward trend."

Maeyer says Silver Cloud Air always orders new aircraft and has built its reputation on reliability and safety. He adds: "One of the measures we employ is to train our pilots regularly on appropriate simulators. That, added to excellent and exclusive service and the flexibility, makes a key difference to our offering. We expect our business to continue to grow."

The new Sovereign was flown from Wichita to Bremen Paderborn via Goose Bay, Labrador. Maeyer says: "We had to stop not only for refuelling but also to wait some time so as not to land too early in Bremen where the airport opens at 0600 local time. We used the time to have a wonderful pizza in Goose Bay.

"The night flight to Bremen over the North Atlantic was very smooth. We had nearly no wind across the North Atlantic but we had beautiful northern lights and millions of bright shining stars in the sky. In Bremen we had to do the customs for the new aircraft and then we departed for Paderborn. There it was taken under the wings of our maintenance company Atlas Air Service as it waited for official approval for commercial operations."

The first commercial flight was to South Africa via Palma de Mallorca, Spain and Libreville, Gabon, from Cape Town returning via Lagos, Nigeria, Marrakech, Morocco to Karlsruhe, Germany. "The new aircraft proved very reliable in service," Maeyer reports. "It is now in normal commercial operation."