Luxair Executive has taken delivery of a Learjet 60, which replaces its Learjet 35s. The aircraft, which is expected to fly throughout the recently extended EU, was selected because of its cabin size, comfort and range.

Said customer relations manager Louis Wright: “We were doing a lot of one hour flights in Europe, but we have since received increasing demand for flights to the new countries joining the EEC, so we needed something with more range.”

The company anticipates big demand for flights between Luxembourg and the 25 European countries, as the country has taken over the presidency of the European Council. “We are the main operator here and we are obviously going to have a lot more flights in and out of Luxembourg, which is why we needed a better aircraft.”

Luxair Executive expects its

core business to come from governments flying their ministers into the country over the next six months, after which it will build

up its client base.

“We have had a lot of requests from private clients, businesses and governments; it’s fairly mixed at the moment,” said Wright. “The big advantage of operating under Luxair Executive – Luxair, the national airline, owns 51 per cent of the company – is that we are we are more or less the Rolls Royce of the group.”

Although the Learjet 60 is a managed aircraft, the operator states that it has complete control of the aircraft. “The owner has to book in advance like any other client.”

The aircraft features seven seats plus a jump seat, a separate toilet,

two satellite telephones, a DVD

and CD player, two LCD screens and

a microwave oven.

“The fact that it had a separate toilet makes a real difference for the flights,” said Wright. “The Learjet 35 is good for short-haul flights, but as soon as you fly more than an hour, you need something better. The owner looked into Citations as well, but decided to go for the LR60.

“We have experience with Learjets. Our pilots got their type rating for the LR60 before we received the aircraft, and we have some freelance pilots who have been flying the LR60 for a long time.

“Maintenance of the aircraft is also simpler, as we’re used to working with Bombardier, so we decided

to remain with the one company. Aero-Dienst of Nuremberg is currently providing maintenance

for the aircraft.”

Luxair Executive is hoping that demand for the aircraft will remain high, and anticipates that the aircraft will clock up between 400 to 500 hours per year. Wright notes that the company’s collaboration with Avinode is proving fruitful, having provided a large number of

flight requests.

“We are very happy with Avinode’s service,” he said. “They managed to get the aircraft on their system

very quickly, which has brought

in a lot of enquiries from all over Europe and Russia. We’re probably giving out two or three quotes a day thanks to Avinode.”

The company has noticed a number of operators entering the charter market in Luxembourg, primarily because of its central location. “It’s a growing market. It’s very central, which is great for

us; being based in Luxembourg, you’re very close to Paris, Brussels

and Frankfurt.

“As we are a Luxembourg-based company we know the market well, so we can profit from the local market and from the European and international markets,” he concluded.