Following on from the success of its CJ1, which has notched up 250 hours of flying time in its first three months, Aerobusiness has ordered a brand-new CJ3 and announced plans to exchange its Bravo with an XLS.

The company, which is based in Germany, bought the CJ1 in June and following a pre-purchase inspection and paint job, the aircraft was delivered later that month. It began operating on June 26 after approval from the German LBA.

According to flight operations manager Peter Becker, the company chose the aircraft in response to its customers’ demands. He explained: “During the last year, we operated two Beech King Air B200s. We recognised a change in our customers’ requirements, so we decided to sell the turboprops and look for a jet aircraft.

“The cheapest option and the most profitable way to start a jet operation within Europe was, in our opinion, with the CJ1. We decided to buy a nearly-new CJ1, which had logged only 450 hours.

“We are expecting between 600 to 700 flying hours with the CJ1 and around 400 to 500 for the Bravo, which our sister company Taxiflug operates, but we will do our best to exceed these goals where possible,” he said.

“So far, the customer reaction has been positive. The flying hours speak for themselves and the nearly-new aircraft is surely a big advantage.”

The CJ1 will be based in Egelsbach in the south of Frankfurt and the Citation Bravo will be based in Stuttgart. During the winter months however, the CJ1 will temporarily be based in Mannheim, which boasts a 24-hour operation and more hangar space than Egelsbach.

Aerobusiness anticipates that the aircraft will fly all over Europe. “We really have no ‘main’ destinations. In the last three months, we have visited all countries from Morocco to Sweden and Ireland to Russia. But the departure airports are mainly the south of France and London,” Becker commented.

Recently, however, the choice of destinations has begun to change with customers increasingly requesting flights from the Canary Islands, Morocco, Turkey and Russia.