The 20-year business-building partnership between boyhood friends Floris Helmers and Alexander Lipsky has reached another milestone. The takeover of rival company Earlybird has brought Air Hamburg Executive a second Citation Bravo that the partners believe will accelerate their company's development.

"You might say that we are a big fish in a small pond but we are very pleased to have become one of the largest charter operators in our region of northern Germany," says Helmers. Air Hamburg also operates 20 single and twin pistons that provide trips largely focused on the islands off the coast of northern Germany including Sylt, Helgoland, Ruegen and Juist.

The island service brings many enquiries for jet charter. "There will virtually be a Citation Bravo for charter all the time now," says Helmers. "We are happy to be satisfying an established demand that previously we did not have the capacity to service. Our first Citation Bravo is flying 70 hours a month and the second will do the same."

The expanded company can call on five senior pilots, including three captains, and a flow of recruits, as needed, from the company's flying school.

The flying school is more than 15 years old. "We gained permission for charter in 2001 and set up Air Hamburg," says Lipsky. "In 2005 we started operating in the jet sector.

We are much happier servicing the jet demand than referring customers to other companies. We are also not now competing against earlybird so we believe the takeover is very good business."

Helmers and Lipsky became friends at the age of 14 and worked their way together through a progression of glider flying, pilot training, obtaining licences, becoming instructors and building the Air Hamburg business.

Wim Van Vlaenderen, who ran earlybird says: "The combination of resources makes a great deal of business sense. There is a growing demand for leisure as well as business flights. Earlybird was flying a lot of U.K. customers for holidays to Austria, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. The feedback was that prices in Germany are very competitive and our efficiency was also admired."

He says the Bravo's "seven plus one" provision provides a good balance of cost and comfort.

"The combined companies can obviously offer more manpower and more pilots."

Earlybird was launched in 1987 and operated a Piper Cheyenne before 2000.