Air Hamburg has welcomed 160 new members of staff and eight aircraft so far in 2021, bringing its fleet to 42. The new additions include two Legacy 600/650s, two Legacy 450/500s, one CJ3, a Praetor 600 and a Lineage 1000E. The company is expecting to bring on another Lineage and a Falcon 7X before the year is out. MD Floris Helmers says that, at its busiest, Air Hamburg handled 96 flight legs and 3,200 enquiries in a single day.

“Our most popular aircraft is the Praetor 600, as it closes the gap between the XLS+ and the Legacy 650,” he explains. “It is an efficient, modern aircraft with long range. The Lineage is also popular – as the new flagship aircraft, it caters to a new market segment and client group and offers more luxury with up to 18 seats, making it ideal for families.”

Several factors secured the operator's continued growth during the pandemic. “First of all, our 15 years of experience in business aviation and our close, trusted client network were the foundations with which we were able to successfully continue our operations,” Helmers continues. “Secondly, we shared daily COVID-19 development updates prepared by a dedicated task force team with the whole company. Thanks to this everyone, received transparent, honest communication and knew what is happening where, what are the risks and next steps. Thirdly, we implemented a strategic fleet rotation plan with the following advantage – no jet was ever grounded for too long, allowing us to keep our aircraft in the air, cover pre-planned MX slots and offering our customers the choice of any model at any time.

“We are nicely surprised by how busy the late summer has been. September is already fully booked and October is filling up fast, despite our expanding fleet. The benefits of our business model are clearly noticeable: while major airlines continue to increasingly cancel or postpone flights, Air Hamburg offers booking security, resulting in many new client acquisitions by brokers.”