Greek charter firm Interjet is to take delivery of a Falcon 2000EX EASy, which will be based in Athens in October of this year. Commercial director Miltos Mouzakis told EBAN that the reasons behind the choice stem from good experiences with other Dassault aircraft. He said: “We were very happy with the previous Falcon that we still operate, a Falcon 2000, which has proved to be a very good aircraft, with a very nice cabin and great performance. We were also very happy with the service we received from Dassault, so that’s the main reason we chose them again.”

Interjet has been operating its Falcon 2000 since early 2001, and it’s been a success for all concerned. Mouzakis said: “It’s been very successful for the charter business and also the owner was extremely happy with the aircraft.” With this in mind, when it came time to pick a new aircraft, Interjet had no doubt where its allegiances lay: “Actually, we are very loyal to Dassault,” said Mouzakis.

Its location in South Eastern Europe means that much of Interjet’s business is done in the Middle East and despite the undoubted strengths of the Falcon 2000, Interjet were happy to upgrade to the 2000EX, largely because of the aircraft’s greater range. Mouzakis said: “We’re able to improve our service by offering up to seven hours non-stop flying out of Athens, which will give us many more potential destinations and gives us better performance for transatlantic flights.” Mouzakis estimates that the aircraft will be used 20 per cent by the owner and 80 per cent by Interjet for charter.

But it’s not just the 2000EX’s greater range that appealed to Interjet, with avionics proving to be an important factor. Mouzakis says: “The company invests heavily in new technology, and that’s one of the main benefits of this aircraft for us. The EASy flight deck reflects the high-end technology factor that we like to have on our fleet.”

With the emphasis on technology, it’s no surprise that Interjet’s fleet is so young, as Mouzakis points out: “We always want to keep the average age of our aircraft at a low rate and at the moment our fleet just exceeds four years old.”

Interjet has kept the interior of its 2000EX much to standard with some minor alterations, as Mouzakis explains: “We kept the same configuration of eight seats, which makes for a really comfortable and spacious cabin. The only changes we made are that we got rid of the sofa that came with the aircraft. Previous experience suggests to us that these are not used by the passengers and was more for decoration, so we added some more storage room instead.”

Interjet’s general optimism about its aircraft and the charter market is tempered somewhat by the impact of the Olympics on private aviation in Greece, which was a mixed experience at best. Mouzakis said: “I would say the Olympics had some good effects and some bad. For the charter jet business it was fine, but for helicopters it wasn’t so good, because of government flying restrictions. That was definitely an issue.”