A Cessna Citation V Ultra is the first of three new additions to be delivered to Dutch charter operator Solid Air this year. The other additions, a 12-seater Dornier 328 is due at the beginning of October and a Cessna Citation VI on 1 September. Rod Buijs, commercial director and co-owner of Solid Air, said: "We chose the Ultra because we already operate two Bravos, but they don't have the range our customers require, so we were looking for an aircraft that was between the Citation VI and the Citation Bravo in price and distance. The Ultra was the best solution for this as it has a range of roughly 1,600 nm. "Also, the performance for the Citation Ultra is in our interest because we operate into smaller airports like St Tropez, and we can only fly into that airport in the CJ1. "We are receiving more and more requests to fly into smaller airports such as St Tropez, and the Ultra is one of the few only larger aircraft that can operate into Le Mans." The customer's reaction to the new aircraft has been difficult to gauge because it is very similar to the Citation Bravos. Buijs says some passengers don't know which aircraft they are on. The aircraft will be based at Amsterdam where Solid Air opened new offices in July last year. Since the opening, Buijs says the market has picked up for the company. "One reason is having an aircraft stationed permanently at the airport," he says. Solid Air is looking to buy an intercontinental class aircraft to expand services. The final decision on the model will be made within the next six months. Buijs hopes it will be added to the fleet by the end of the year.