Munich’s Comfort Air has replaced its Citation Jet with a brand new CJ1. The company, which also owns a Citation V, believes that the aircraft will be mainly chartered for hour-long flights hopping around Europe. Stephanie Fell, the owner’s daughter, explained: “My father first started operating jets around three years ago, when he became the co-owner of a Citation Jet. He was happy with this and therefore decided to buy this newer model a short while ago.”

The company also manages another Citation Jet, an area which it only entered after another owner approached Comfort Air due to the dissatisfaction with previous operators. “We are owners ourselves, so we know what other owners want. We know how difficult it is to find other people to look after your aircraft well. I think Comfort Air can continue in both management and ownership fields. If our Citation is in use, we can use this one as a back-up and that also helps the owners to cover their costs,” said Fell.

She added: “We have a good customer base, which we’ve had for between five and ten years now. They know we are a 24-hour service, and with us they have a family who cares for everything. Me, my father, mother, husband and brother.” Fell told of some of the more personal reasons behind this choice of aircraft: “My husband always says it’s the cockpit, it’s such a fascinating cockpit. This satisfies our passion for excellent technique and avionics. There is a four-seat club configuration and another two seats behind that.

“It appeals mainly to business people travelling to and from meetings. The customers like it because it’s a small, very handy jet and can fly everywhere, and land anywhere. “

Air Comfort believes this type of investment will benefit the company as the future brings further GA regulations: “In comparison to other jets, it’s an economic aircraft. We charter it for around 2,400 euros per hour. Pricing is hard for us, because at the moment struggling companies are starting to dump. When customers say you’re price is higher than the others, we say that we are not the ones who will be letting our customers down in the long run. At the moment there is a strange shake-up and as the law changes and a lot of operators are obliged to add a lot of avionics, the upgrades will prove too expensive for some.”

As a family run business, Comfort Air believes its strength lies in the appreciation its customers have for the personal touch: “We don’t charge for many of the extra hours we put into the business. This is our enterprise, we love it and therefore we do it,” said Fell.