Triple Alpha has taken a Citation 550 under management. Company president Hans Pfeiffer said: “This is an excellent domestic aircraft, but we’ve also had a lot of response from UK charter brokers. It fills a niche

in the Düsseldorf area because although there are a number of King Airs, there are no competitively priced aircraft for eight people with a jet performance. The 550 is also London City approved (as is all our fleet), so I expect it to be popular in both countries. Our current clients say they really like the capacity, especially those who want to use it for family holiday flights.”

The company chose the aircraft on behalf of a customer. “We advised the owner that this aircraft had the

range and capabilities he needed.

He became a charter customer of ours in late 1998 and since then he’s been flying more and more in Citation jets. Obviously it came to a point where buying became practical and he realised that owning would offer greater flexibility. As a successful property developer he was aware that investing in an aircraft was beneficial in terms of long-term economies,’ said Pfeiffer.

The 550’s owner will be flying the aircraft between 150 and 200 hours a year, outside of which Triple Alpha will charter. Pfeiffer said: “We have generally tended to stick with Cessna aircraft because they’re very reliable, although they aren’t the fastest aircraft out there. Our neighbours Vibro Air operate two Premier 1s and are proud of the speed their aircraft offer.

“We have two other managed Citation jets which are flying so much that there are a number of days when we have to sub-charter. Over the last year we experienced an increase in charter demand, despite the fact that a lot of customers come and go. We’ve seen this particularly of the construction industry, because there isn’t so much business for them at the moment. Our progress is not necessarily reflective of an industry-wide trend; from what I see (especially from operators around Düsseldorf) we seem to be flying the most.”

The company says its base at Düsseldorf Airport is ideally located in the centre of Europe. “We have everything here, including maintenance and very competitive fuel prices. We just want to build up a reputation of being reliable and honest. Obviously we would like to increase the size of our fleet, and will be looking at adding another CJ1 or Citation II within the next six to 12 months," said Pfeiffer.