Lynton Aviation is in the process of selling its two company-owned Hawker 700Bs. One is currently sale pending, whilst the other is under refurbishment and on the market. “The decision was made to sell the aircraft due to a number of reasons, but mainly because they’re getting on a bit and needed money to spent on them in order to meet future compliance regulations,” said Tim Blockley, aircraft sales manager. The company is currently discussing internally whether to upgrade the fleet and is considering making its charter arm (Signature Aircraft Charter) operators of purely managed aircraft. “Management is more cost efficient than owning and we do have plans to take on more aircraft for management,” said commercial manager Richard Neale.

“The Hawkers have been on the market for around a year, and it continues to be soft. Although the September 11 events have provoked a more bullish feel to the market, because people (particularly in the US) are starting to use bizjets more due to security implications,” said Blockley. Lynton is a Raytheon dealer and therefore sings the praises of the Hawker: “It’s ideal for the European charter market in terms of range and it has a very large cabin. Yet these aircraft were ranking up the hours, so with newer aircraft around they weren’t always the first to be looked at for charter,” admitted Blockley. The Hawker which is sale pending was on the market for three and a half million dollars, but the company failed to elaborate on the final agreed price.

Neale, who dealt with the charter activities of the aircraft, said: “For a number of years we operated one of the Hawkers on a long term lease basis for one particular company. We found the aircraft generally appealed to businessmen, although we’ve had pop stars and other celebrities fly on it. The remaining Hawker has basically been the standard work horse of our fleet.” The aircraft has a stand up cabin, a full-size toilet and a galley, enabling in-flight hot food to be served.

“Since September 11, the market seems to be livening up a bit. There have been more general enquiries, although at present people are just sounding out the market to see how prices compare with scheduled services. We are also receiving first time enquiries. I think people are starting to see that bizjets are a business tool and not just a chief executive’s toy,” said Neale.