Brussels-Based Aureus Group has a plan to expand the incentive travel market in Belgium and mainland Europe, using a fleet of Piaggio Avanti P180 aircraft. The brainchild of IT consultant and pilot Christian Evrard, Aureus will aim to operate in a number of differing areas, rather than relying on incentive travel.

The partners in Aureus have been working on the project for a number of years and hope to commence flying in 2005. They are looking for some investment partners to join the company to help bring the plans to fruition. The capitalisation is budgeted at £3-4 million, with equal bank cover, with a view to profitability after the third year of trading.

Aureus’ business plan is based on offering a range of travelling options to the valuable ‘middle management’ market – businessmen and women who may typically earn around £120,000 a year, are not wealthy enough to own an aircraft, but have more sophisticated travelling tastes than current carriers generally cater for. The company plans to offer scheduled seasonal services to bring clients closer to popular destinations such as St. Tropez and St. Moritz.

Where Aureus really wants to fly high is to create a much more inclusive range of incentive packages, where the company essentially merges the traditional role of tour operator, airline, hotel agency and ground attraction company. A typical Aureus package could see the client picked up from home by limousine, with the flight attendant accompanying the travellers throughout the journey. Their flight aboard the Avanti would include full catering and, on arrival, another limousine may whisk the party to their hotel.

Although he was originally considering using Citations for his fleet, one flight in the Avanti convinced Evrard that it is the aircraft for him, with excellent operating economies and superior internal equipment (although Aureus plans on installing its own custom interiors).

Evrard also sees a defined business travel role for his project – particularly for trade shows. By offering a dedicated aircraft with capacity for up to six passengers, as well as a flexible client service package, he believes that the trips can be priced competitively with existing business/first class travel options. Similarly, he anticipates strong demand for private/leisure flights.