Norwegian business charter operator Hesnes Air has purchased a second Citation Encore. The eight-year-old aircraft, which arrived in February and has already flown revenue services, has a seating capacity of eight plus one and is a welcome addition to the company's existing fleet of King Air B200, AS350 helicopter and original Encore.

These are all based at the company's headquarters at Torp airport, Sandefjord, but from April the latest Encore will mainly be based at Gardermoen.

Hesnes has operated the first Encore for over four years now, and has been pleased with its performance during that time. However, it has an interior configuration which offers only seven plus one seats. "We see that it is necessary in our market to offer more seats," says Sissel Kirkvaag.

Hesnes had been looking for a suitable new aircraft for some time, and is confident that this Encore, which was was previously operated by Eurojet Romania, will prove to be a good investment.

The company has employed three new pilots, each of whom has had the necessary training in Wichita, Texas. "We feel there are many qualified pilots available and we have had a lot of applications," says Kirkvaag.

The company's long-term strategy is to have six aircraft in operation, although it has taken the precaution of reserving a series of nine consecutive registration marks.