Oliver Oberhofer, ceo of Team Air, has recently purchased a King Air C90-A for the company, although it will generally be used by himself and another company shareholder. “One of our shareholders is a little bit older and didn’t want anything too fast, so we will be splitting use fifty-fifty. The aircraft won’t be chartered to customers, but we’ll be using it for both business and pleasure,” explained Oberhofer. The Munich-based company also has a Commander and a King Air F90, which are available for charter.

“I like the King Air primarily because it’s a turboprop. It’s a very solid aircraft, everything works well so there are no maintenance hassles and it’s a quality Beechcraft. It’s disadvantage is that it’s pretty slow, although this does make it easy to fly,” laughed Oberhofer. The aircraft is configured in a four club seat arrangement and includes a toilet. The company started looking for an aircraft around six months ago, although being sales brokers also, there are often new aircraft coming through the company. “We bought the King Air for around $1.8 million, which I think is the regular price. The sales market in general is moving towards the jet era, so there are those who will definitely spend a few dollars more to fly in a jet rather than a turboprop,” he added. Typical destinations will include: Milan, Sardinia, Lugano and Paris.

Oberhofer said: “The charter market has been picking up a little since September 11. Although it is generally slow in the summer before picking up in the winter.”