Bookajet.com has added a Premier 1 and a third Citation Excel to its managed fleet. The aircraft will be based at Farnborough Airport and are expected to log at least 400 hours per year each.

The company, which also operates a Gulfstream G550 and Citation VII, is responding to what it views as a

niche demand in the market for a midsize aircraft operating out of the London area.

“In terms of locality, there’s very little midsize competition in the Farnborough area and we felt that positioning the Excel there would be a good opportunity to exploit a gap in the market,” joint md Jonathan Clements told EBAN.

Initially, the Premier 1 will also be based at Farnborough. “The Premier 1 was subject to the principal owner’s requirements and it suits his mission profile very well in terms of payload, range and speed. Also, we were very impressed with the operating economics. We evaluated the competition and saw that it met not just the owner’s needs, but ours also, and it presented a good niche aircraft for charter.

“I think the aircraft is suited for trips to the south of France; it’s a very quick six-seat aircraft and will be a good alternative to midsize aeroplanes,” he added.

The Excel will be operated purely for charter flights, whereas about 80 per cent of the Premier 1’s flight hours will be accrued from charters, which are scheduled to begin in July.

Bookajet’s short- to medium-term goal is to increase its fleet to 12 aircraft within the light, midsize and long range categories.

“We have a number of prospects and are definitely looking into acquiring a G550 to be based in the UK in October or November. The existing G550 is pretty much fully utilised and we see extra capacity for usage in the UK.”

Further fleet additions for

2005 include a Falcon 900, two Citation Excel S and two Hawker 125-800 aircraft.