Air Service Liege has taken delivery of a Beech King Air F90, which it will manage for a private owner and operate for business charter and air ambulance flights.

The twin-engine turboprop joins a Cessna 340 at the company’s Maastricht base. Air Service Liege also operates a Super King Air 200, Citation CJ2, Piper Seneca and an Embraer Xingu from its facility in Antwerp.

With the recent fleet expansions of some of Belgium’s biggest players, including Abelag and Flying Group, Air Service Liege is keen to maintain its presence in Antwerp but is also looking towards the Netherlands and Germany for new business.

“We are a growing company and were looking for an extra aircraft for our operation in Maastricht,” said md Philippe Bodson. “We are looking for opportunities to find new clients who are based in Germany, as it’s very close to the German border.

“The owner of the BE90 is German and he insisted that the aircraft remain in Maastricht, which is no problem for us. It’s important that we introduce ourselves into the charter market in Germany as we haven’t done anything in that region until now, and we are also looking for a German pilot to fly the aircraft and help us to source commercial contacts.”

The company performs a variety of missions, including cargo and organ transportation flights, but the majority of its operations consist of business charter and air ambulance flights.

The six-seat King Air F90 has capacity for a single stretcher and the company anticipates that it will be fully operational – and in high demand – by the end of the year.

“An aircraft should achieve 400 flight hours per year, so that’s what we’re hoping for. We want to enter these new markets and we will begin a marketing campaign in those areas when the aircraft is 100 per cent available,” said Bodson.

“The King Air F90 has a high standard of quality, so I think we should be able to find many clients for it. It is derived from the C90 but it’s faster, has stronger engines and can operate from shorter runways.

“For us it’s a perfect backup for the BE200; in fact it’s just a smaller version of that aircraft and is almost as fast. In addition, our pilots flying the Super King Air can also fly the BE90. Integrating this aircraft into our fleet has been rather easy for us.”