Vienna’s industrial giant Tupack Verpackungen, has taken delivery of its first owned aircraft – a Learjet 60. The company will operate it to further its business as a producer of packaging materials for the world cosmetic industry.

Managing director Wolfgang Eder, told EBAN: “We have more and more travel requirements at this company and we needed an aircraft to be able to fly intercontinentally. We opted for a Bombardier Continental but as we have been given a delivery time of about three and a half years, we needed something to fly in up until 2005.

“We have chartered Lear 60s in the past and decided it was the right aeroplane for us, in terms of speed and range.”

Tupack, whose main business lies in the production of plastic tubes for lipcare sticks, has begun using the Learjet 60 to reach destinations in Europe and also the US.

Said Eder: “This aircraft is not only for our own people but also for our customers. We’ve got a very modern production facility here in Vienna and it’s a big advantage if you can bring customers in in your own plane.

“If you tell people you’ll send them an airline ticket, they won’t take it but if you offer to send them a Learjet to pick them up in the morning and fly them back in the evening, they’re unlikely to refuse.”

Tupack also considered the Lear 45 before buying the 60 but found that the extra room and range

were deciding factors. Asked about the company’s apparent leaning for Bombardier products, Eder said: “The owner of this company has been flying a Learjet for a long time so we have preference for

this manufacturer.

“We also have experience as a charter passenger and in respect of reliability and quality, we

believe Bombardier produces a very good product.”

In choosing the Continental, Tupack also looked at the Challenger 604. Eder explained: “The Continental is the more modern plane and of course it’s more than5 million dollars cheaper. The range is not nearly the same, that’s true, but to reach New York you have to plan one stop with the 604 flying against winds anyway.”