Sion Airport in Switzerland has itself its first vip handling facility, courtesy of Alpine Jet Service. It was set up in July by ex-PrivatAir employee Gilbert Mindren, who spoke to EBAN about the new company’s plans.

He said: “This is a good challenge for me to try to develop the company here, not only with handling but also on the management and operations side as well.”

Alpine has a sister company which goes by the name of Helicopter Service and operates vip flights with its Bell 407, Lama and the AS350 B3 it is soon to receive. It is Mindren’s intention that Helicopter Service will be able to provide good connections to Alpine’s handling customers.

He said: “Many of our clients live in places like Werbier and Villars, so we are very well located for them to transfer home. It is much faster than Geneva or Zurich and the facilities, in my opinion, are much better.”

Speaking of facilities, Alpine Jet Service offers two hangars which can accommodate aircraft up to the GIV or Falcon 900 size. It offers one vip lounge with room for 20 people, and a separate lounge for five to six. In addition, the company offers operations support and has its own ramp just in front of the lounge.

Said Mindren: “It’s very discreet here because we are located on the south side of the terminal where there is no traffic at all. It’s very quiet and comfortable for the passengers.

While there is no handling competition for Alpine at Sion, helicopter charter competition may be seen in the form of local company, Air Glacier. That said, they may well be competing for different markets. Said Mindren: “Air Glacier mainly do hospital flights because accidents are very common in the mountains here. They carry out some passenger flights but it is not their main business.

“With room for six passengers, our Bell 407 is well suited to the vip market. The B3, which will be

arriving next week, will also be put to good use.”

Alpine Jet Service currently has five staff, including two pilots, although a sixth will be taken on shortly.