UK-based Gama Aviation has won management contracts for a BBJ and a GV. Project manager Dave Edwards said: “We got our first large aircraft management deal in November 2001 for a GIV and since then things have progressed well. The BBJ and the GV are both under management contracts.

“The owners of both the GV and the BBJ previously chartered large aircraft and they decided that now was the time to buy, because of the favourable market.” The owner of the BBJ is not UK-based. “When you get to that level of aircraft, the basing isn’t very important. For example Switzerland is home to a huge number of executive jets, but at least 50 per cent of those owners don’t reside in the country,” said Edwards.

Farnborough-based Gama has a fleet of around eight aircraft, ranging from the King Air 200 through to the Learjet 45 and the Hawker 1000. Edwards said: “The largest aircraft we operate for charter is the Hawker 1000, so previously these new owners had chartered from other companies. I think they came to us because we basically offered them a good management package. I guess there comes a point in every charterer's life when it makes more sense to own an aircraft.”

The GIV, GV and the BBJ are all private aircraft, which will not be put out to charter. “All of the aircraft will be busy flying to destinations world wide for business purposes. We love charter. That’s why we’ve been in the business from the beginning, but management is obviously another string to our bow. In the future we would like to see a long-range aircraft on our charter certificate.”

Coinciding with Gama’s twentieth year of operations is the completion of expansion at Farnborough. “There’s more than enough space here to accommodate any additions to our fleet. We’re now Farnborough's largest operator, in terms of number and size of aircraft and the BBJ’s the biggest aircraft based here. We’re moving across to the new facilities on the north side of the airfield, along with everybody else. We have the largest office space here and we’ll also be taking a proportion of one of the hangars, which are huge.”