Bergen Air Transport has taken delivery of a Cessna Conquest II turboprop aircraft, which it hopes will enable the company to take advantage of a growing charter market in Norway.

Company owner and accountable manager Geir Hellsten told EBAN that Bergen Air, which also operates a Cessna 421, chose the aircraft because of its speed and range capabilities.

“We like the comfort and speed – it’s a 350 knot aircraft – but it is expensive,” said Hellsten. The aircraft has a seven seat configuration with a lavatory.

“The first thing the customers noticed was the volume of the cabin in the Conquest compared to the Golden Eagle. After flight, the first thing they commented on was the climb performance and the comfort in the cabin,” he added.

The Conquest II makes scheduled flights to Notodden (near Oslo) as well as ad hoc taxi charter flights for business passengers all over Europe. The scheduled flights, which take 30 minutes, are operated in the morning and late afternoon between Monday and Friday, leaving a lot of availability for charter use.

Bergen Air expects the aircraft to make about 400 hours of flight per year, with a further 300 hours made by the Cessna 421. It was purchased in response to increased business and is fully meeting the requirements of Bergen’s clients.

“We are quite happy; we have a lot of customers taking the scheduled flights and a small increase in the taxi business,” said Hellsten. “Our hours mainly come from the scheduled flights but the money comes from the charter business.”

As for the future, Bergen Air hopes to make the transition into the jet charter market, provided that the anticipated market growth comes to fruition. The company is also consid-ering acquiring another turboprop, possibly a Beech 200, next year.