Germany's Air Independence has added a managed Challenger 650 to its fleet. Its owner had a share on another aircraft but, finding that its availability was often blocked by other shareholders, he decided to move for his own machine. The CL650 has already been deployed for some charter missions in addition to flights for the owner.

“The client was looking for a heavy jet with a good combination of range, price, performance and comfort," says head of marketing Thomas Lenz. "Through our good experience of the Challenger market, we of course showed him the advantages of this type of aircraft. In the end, he wanted a newer aircraft so a new CL650 was the best solution for him between comfort, price and size. It made no sense to buy a bigger or longer range aircraft for the routes he tends to fly, which are mainly within Europe."

Lenz says the client has been happy with the aircraft's performance and there has been a lot of interest in it from the charter market. "For the moment most of the flights are for the owner and his friends, however it is also available for charter for exclusive clients," he adds.

“The entertainment system on board is redesigned (Rockwell Collins Venue), it has wi-fi on board and the cockpit has been upgraded to the highest standard. The aircraft is also ADS-B, ADS-C and FANS 1/A compliant."

Air Independence has also moved a fourth Challenger 604 (D-AAAY) into full worldwide charter, and another of its 604s (D-ATMJ) has been very popular since it returned from refurbishment at the start of the year.

“There are a lot of operators in our region with the same size aircraft as ours, which can pose a challenge," continues Lenz. "They are also doing great jobs, so we are always in competition with them and their fleets. The mentality of European clients is different to other regions; they often choose smaller aircraft due to price instead of using the comfort of bigger types."

The operator was founded 20 years ago with a single Learjet and now flies its five Challengers all over Europe and beyond.