Spanish charter company Gestair has sold a Falcon 200 to Atlanta-based O’Gara Aviation.

General manager Jose Espinosa said: “We sold the aircraft on behalf of a client who is upgrading to an Envoy 3. The new aircraft will be coming direct from Dornier next year.”

The owner made the decision mainly due to the extra cabin size of the Envoy and the expensive operating costs of the 200, Gestair said.

“The Envoy 3 is a lovely wide bodied machine. It’s a commuter aircraft converted into a business aircraft, so it’s very comfortable. There’s a 2,000 nm range, and all in all it’s not too expensive,” added Espinosa.

The Falcon had a capacity for ten passengers and was generally used for European trips, North Africa and occasionally domestic flights. The company’s client base is world wide as it operates a number of intercontinental aircraft. Most of its European customers are encountered through brokers. “The Falcon’s positive points were its range of 2,500 nm and its cabin size. In its class it has the longest range and at $6-7 million, the price isn’t bad either. Nevertheless maintenance and operating costs were high, so the revenues accrued from chartering nowhere near compensated for the operating costs,” said Espinosa. “You can charge the same for an Envoy 3 as a Falcon 50 or 900 although the operating costs are lower, so the margins are closer. It is also very quiet and can take off from short runways, so it is popular with clients.”

Whilst discussing the current market situation, Espinosa admitted: “There are many new companies chartering every year, however a number of these do not become regular customers. Consequently our company doesn’t grow by more than ten per cent a year, in terms of hours flown.” The company’s charter fleet now includes a GIV, GV, Falcon 900, Hawker 800 and a selection of Citations.

Gestair has 21 aircraft on its books, all of which are managed for a mixture of banks, corporations and private individuals.