Windrose Air Jetcharter has taken delivery of a Beechcraft King Air 200. The company chose to operate the managed aircraft in response to increasing call for turboprop aircraft that can operate from short runways.

“It’s a reasonably priced alternative to using a jet,” marketing manager Markus Altvater told EBAN. “It’s a very flexible aircraft, which can carry up to nine passengers and also transport freight. We can operate it from short runways, which is a benefit compared to jets.”

The BE200 joins a fleet of jets – a Gulfstream IV-SP, CJ1, CJ2, Citation Bravo and Learjet 60 – at Windrose’s Berlin Tempelhof base. Although it is owned privately, the company will manage and operate the aircraft, primarily for charter flights.

The King Air acquisition stems from demand for a different type of aircraft, which will be primarily employed in eastern Europe.

Altvater anticipates that it will log approximately 400 hours per year.

“A little more is always better,”

he commented.

“It’s been quite popular so far. We had a King Air special offer for the first three months of the year, offering a discount on the price per flight hour, and it was very successful.

The King Air features a four seat conference and two seat sofa configuration, with two additional single seats and a jump seat in the rear of the aircraft.

Altvater believes that the charter market in Germany is healthy enough to support additional fleet additions in the coming year. “We are looking into buying another midsize aircraft this year, having seen a lot of demand for this class of aircraft.

“The charter market got a little bit stronger last year and the first three months of this year have been very successful,” he said. “Demand is generally increasing.”

With the football World Cup set to push the air charter industry into full throttle next year, Windrose expects that its fleet will be able to accommodate additional flight requests. “Hopefully we can service the demand with the new aircraft we’re getting this year, or we will sub-charter at the time.”