Italian charter firm Top Jet has taken delivery of another Beechjet 400A, which replaces a 400 model, to satisfy steady customer demand for this aircraft. The company now operates two 400As. President Dino Rasero said: “We wanted to offer customers the same kind of aircraft as before, and felt that the 400 was judged by the market to be a little bit old.”

“Customers prefer new aircraft because they like the new interior, the look, the smell, the feel, that kind of thing. It was just a commercial decision to give my clients the kind of aircraft that had proved so popular before, with the same kind of interior and amenities such as a flushing toilet – the things that really help in longer flights.”

He added: “But obviously there is still considerable difference between the 400 and 400A in terms of interior amenities such as the seats, which are now more comfortable and reclinable, so you can have two beds on the aircraft in one flight. Another factor for us was that the Beechjet 400 requires the installation of the TCAS 2 and RVSM systems. That would prove really expensive on the old version of the aircraft but the new one already has them incorporated.”

Top Jet took delivery of the aircraft in late October and hopes to begin operating in early November. The Milan-based company owns both its Beechjets, but has access to the entire Sirio fleet, who operate the Beechjet on Top Jet’s behalf. Rasero explains: “Since April 2003 we have had the right to charter the entire fleet of Sirio to third party, both in Italy and internationally. This means we’re one of the largest operators in Italy because we already have a large fleet at our disposal . However, to be honest, a lot of the Sirio aircraft are owned by other people and they use the aircraft a lot for their own necessities, so they are not always free for charter. Owning the two Beechjets directly, as we do, means we can offer them for charter 100 per cent of the time.”

Rasero says that he was more than happy to deal with Beechjet again when the opportunity arose and didn’t feel it was necessary to consider other aircraft. He said: “I have a big clientele that is interested in this kind of aircraft which, in my opinion, is one of the best options in terms of price versus comfort.”

The aircraft is to be based at Milano-Linate, but Top Jet has also been exploiting other location potential. Rasero commented: “We took the decision to base an aircraft in Nice to allow the international market to use the aircraft to and from the Cote d’Azur, which is popular with a lot of our customers, especially during summertime. It went really well because we increased the flight hours almost 35 per cent from 2003, so that was really a brilliant operation for us. I think the new aircraft will continue this trend; we’re expecting big growth in the next few years.”

Whilst Top Jet mostly flies both ways within southern and northern Europe, the effects of EU expansion are already being felt within the Italian charter market. Said Rasero: “With regard to the eastern European countries, we see a lot of flights from the eastern part of Italy, such as the Venice area, to places like Romania, Hungary and Poland.” He adds: “In my opinion destinations like this are increasing their potential in terms of business aviation. We fly a lot of Italian businessmen, particularly those in manufacturing, who have plans in the area.”

With potentially huge new markets opening up, Rasero, like many in the industry, is cautiously optimistic about the future. He said: “I think in the sector like ours of mid-size aircraft the market is definitely growing, and I think also it’s growing for larger aircraft, like the Falcon 2000 and even bigger aircraft. We’ll see how things go, but perhaps in a year’s time our next investment will be in a bigger aircraft.”