Jetclub, based at Zurich Airport, Switzerland, has added a third Gulfstream GV to its fleet. The aircraft, which is on a management contract, joins other long range aircraft in the fleet, including GIVs, Challenger and a Falcon 900.

The company anticipates that the owner of the GV will make 60 per cent of the expected 600 to 800 flight hours per year. The remaining 40 per cent will be ad hoc charter flights.

Operations director Jurg Meuli told EBAN: “The owner is actually a GIV owner who chose to upgrade and is about to sell his GIV. The main reason the GV was selected was to go non-stop to the west coast of the US.”

Jetclub has aircraft based in various locations across Europe and the Middle East. According to Meuli, the GV complements its existing fleet perfectly. “Based on the aircraft we operate, we are mainly at home in the long range business but, of course, there are people around who use the GIV or GV just to fly to Paris,” he said. “We won’t decline short or medium range aircraft if customers want us to manage them on their behalf.”

In order to prepare for the long range flights to California, the Far East and South America, Jetclub’s GIV pilots are upgrading to the GV and are training at FlightSafety in Savannah.

To meet the owner’s requirements, the company plans to change the aircraft’s interior in the winter, so the cabin will feature a 16 seat configuration. “The owner does not like the current interior. It was part

of the deal – he wants his own design and his own cabin,” said Meuli. “The work will most probably be done in the US.”