A land reclamation company has bought a King Air 350 aircraft to transport its chairman and other business associates around the UK and Europe.

The aeroplane is the brand new acquisition of Parkhill Estates, which is based in Newport, England. It will use the aircraft mainly to fly between its office and the Scottish Coal Company, which Parkhill also owns.

The company took delivery of the aircraft at the end of July and began operating it one month later. The BE350 replaces a Super King Air 200, which the company had operated for a year and a half, before selling it it to another UK company.

Pilot David Bottomley said the company chose the larger King Air because it is faster and is more spacious than the BE200, and performs well in a short field. It has club seating at the front and back and is expected to log about 200 hours per year.

Bottomley recently completed his training at FlightSafety in Wichita to enable him to operate the BE350. One other pilot will fly the aircraft once the training is complete. Parkhill has no plans to acquire any additional aircraft, he said.