WM Aero, based at Egelsbach, near Frankfurt, Germany, is adding a Cessna CJ2 to its fleet, with a view to acquiring a CJ3 in the future.

The aircraft, which is owned by a private individual, will be based at Stuttgart this year and at Frankfurt thereafter and will be used exclusively for business charter flights. The CJ2 will join a Bravo and two Beech 200s, one of which is used for cargo flights.

Accountable manager Peter Becker said: “It’s a great aircraft with seven seats, below 5.7 tonnes. We are expecting the CJ2 to fly 350 to 400 hours in the first year, with a 10 per cent improvement every year. We expect about 1,800 to 2,000 charter flight hours for the entire fleet.”

The company operates the aircraft around Europe from itsbase in Germany, but sees strong potential for the development of its business in the recently expanded European Union.

“We fly anywhere within Europe,” said Becker. “There’s big demand in Scandinavia at the moment.” WM Aero received a lot of interest recently from passengers hoping to fly to Portugal for the Euro 2004 football tournament but was hindered by strict landing and hangarage regulations at the country’s airports.