Jet Netherlands has added a Cessna 525 to its AOC on behalf of fledgling Eindhoven-based charterers Solid Air. Jet Netherlands’ director Willem de Kruif said: “They are leasing the aircraft and asked us to put it on our AOC so they could start a commercial operation. For a small operation with small margins it’s almost impossible to obtain an AOC.

“The situation benefits us through the management fee we’ve agreed on, but we have no commercial commitment to the aircraft.”

De Kruif is confident that Solid Air can make a viable business out of this set-up. “The 525 is ideal for a company like this, particularly as Dynamic Airlines has left Eindhoven – leaving the south of Holland in need of a jet like this. It is also a big commitment for us, due to all the obligations an AOC holder has. We need to supply them with all the manuals, supervise and have our own quality system implemented over there.

“I think in the current charter market it’s probably a negative thing to own your own aircraft due to the level of depreciation over the last year. I believe Solid Air may be the only new operator on the Dutch market at the moment, but I think there will probably be more in the near future,” said de Kruif.

Jet Netherlands has also added Excellent Air’s Citation X to its AOC recently. “On top of our commercial operations we’ve also signed a deal with the Dutch Dakota Association, which owns two fully airworthy DC3s. With all the new legislation it's becoming more and more difficult to keep on operating them privately, so we decided to bring the whole operation up to JAR-OPS standard. This co-operation is fairly unique because the association is working with a commercial company.

"We've decided to get involved in this project as aviation enthusiasts, rather than a commercial interest, in an effort to help their operation continue. The nice thing about these aircraft is that they have a vip interior, which fits in with our operations. People have been working on them for 12 years, so they're basically like a completely new aircraft," said de Kruif.

The company has now brought four aircraft onto its AOC over the last year. "We don't have our own aircraft, but we try and make it possible for companies to operate aircraft on our AOC. Our fleet currently includes a Falcon 50, Citation 650 and a CJ1, although there are several more aircraft on the horizon. We've also signed a co-operation with Private Express, a Swiss AOC-holding company. We're going to be founding Private Express Netherlands, for which we'll be the operator using our own aircraft," he added.