The summer has been very busy for Glasgow, UK-headquartered company Air Charter Scotland. Sales manager Michelle McMullan says it has seen quite a lot of a change in the market in that there have been fewer flights to the eastern Mediterranean than usual. "There have been a few issues there and it has been tough," she says. "However there has been so much more demand generally this summer."

Commercial director Derek Thomson adds: “We have seen a demand spike. We have picked up more work but it has been a challenge for sure. There are so many more airports these days that are restricted on parking. We might fly to Naples and be denied parking, and to then fly to Ibiza for the next trip but be denied parking again, so it is a challenge."

London night slots have presented difficulties for its Luton-based operations. "We’ve had to operate via Southend a few times," explains Thomson. "The difficulty we all in the general aviation world have faced this summer is that If you arrive in London after 23:00 hours at night, the only place you can go is Southend or Birmingham. This needs to be addressed." The company also suffered many delays caused by industrial action by the French and the Italians, and the summer weather which brought thunderstorms. He adds: "Eurocontrol seems to put a flow rate on at the first sign of tricky weather these days. I’ve not seen as many restrictions in previous years as I have this year."

The company has tried its best to manage the demand using its own fleet but there have been times where it has had to go outside to be able to keep up with everyone’s demands, including those from owners. "Sometimes an owner’s aircraft has been out performing charter work but the owner then needs it themselves, so we’ve had to go out to the market and source one," continues Thomson. "The owners are happy because their aircraft is still moving, so they understand that. Normally we would always be able to manage this, but it’s a sign of how busy it’s been."

Its Legacy 500 commenced operations in January this year and even though the market then is traditionally fairly quiet, McMullan says the aircraft now moves more or less every single day. The Latitude and the Excels have been very active too. "The Latitude has enabled us to offer something quite different to our customers with its range, flat floor and outstanding runway performance," adds Thomson. "We can get in and out of almost anywhere." The delivery flight crossed over from Wichita in Kansas, USA to Rotterdam in the Netherlands via Bangor in Maine, USA. It took seven hours from Bangor and arrived with one and a half hours of fuel still on board. "It is a very capable machine," he says.

Overall the company is looking to consolidate its fleet with existing types. Last year it brought in the Latitude, the Phenom 300 and the Legacy 500 in quick succession, which made for quite a busy time. "More aircraft of existing types would be ideal," he adds. And sure enough, within a few days the company had added another Citation 680 to the London fleet.