London Executive Aviation has taken delivery of the first registered Citation Excel in the UK, which will also be the first to be made available for charter. The aircraft belongs to former Tottenham Hotspur football club chairman, Sir Alan Sugar, who recently upgraded from a Citation II with this $9.5 million purchase.

Managing director, George Galanopoulos explained: “One of our other clients has purchased Mr. Sugar’s old Citation II, which we are still managing. He was happy with the aircraft, but decided a bigger and longer range jet would be more appropriate to facilitate his business activities.” Sugar claimed: “I am not in this for financial gain, so there will be a limit to the number of hours the jet is available for charter. The main reason for adding this to LEA’s AOC is because if a jet is left untouched in a hangar, it tends to go wrong.”

At a recent preview at London’s Stansted Airport, industry insiders were allowed a look round the aircraft, which proved to have certain advantages on its competitors. Along with a stand up cabin and separate toilet, the chairs can turn 360 degrees and in the right combination can support a sleeping configuration. Ceo Patrick Margetson-Rushmore added: “There is a range of up to five and a half hours, which effectively means you can fly anywhere within Europe. The jet can also fly at around 500 miles per hour, so flight times are comparable to scheduled flights.”

The company deals with a client base made up of approximately 85 per cent corporate customers, and the rest private individuals. The company are looking to wet lease the Excel for between £1,700 and £1,800 per hour, making it a competitive alternative to the Hawker. “The advantage of this compared with the Hawker is that it has a better designed cabin, upgraded equipment (DWS, TCAS and RVSM approved) and it will last 10 to 15 years before you need to upgrade anything. So basically it can do the same, if not more than the Hawker, but at a lower price,” said Galanopoulos. As a new aircraft the Excel comes with a five year warranty, leading to minimal maintenance costs. Galanopoulos said that the fuel efficiency was excellent and comparable to light jets, including the Citation II or even the Citation I. Margetson-Rushmore added: “I understand that environmentally this is also a cleaner aircraft than the older models on the market.”

LEA expressed its confidence in the stability of the corporate jet market following September 11. “I don’t think that the business aviation sector will be affected by any downturn in the economy, because there’s still a need for people to move around. When we enter a recession, companies immediately become more competitive and use their time and staff more effectively. So we are selling a time effective solution,” said Galanopoulos. In a speech at the preview, he added: “People are now proud of using business aircraft. It is no longer the domain of pop stars, but also an effective business tool.” Touching on the safety

issue, Margetson-Rushmore said: “The Excel is one of the safest civilian aircraft, certainly better than

any airliner.”

“There is still a learning process to go through, before people accept that chartering a private jet is cheaper and quicker than flying scheduled. Therefore middle management who tended to fly business class can now fly cheaper, quicker and without an overnight stop,” said Margetson-Rushmore.

Sugar concluded the proceedings on a lighter note: “Once you get charter customers on this plane, they won’t want to fly on anything else. Just tell them to keep their feet off of my chairs.”