Business aviation company hopes to build on success of its business class-only flights for Lufthansa
PrivatAir is planning to expand its corporate and third-party airline shuttle businesses in the USA following approval by the US Federal Aviation Authority to operate under commercial Part 121 rules. The company is also eyeing further expansion in Europe.
PrivatAir chief executive Greg Thomas says the business aviation service provider hopes to emulate the success of its Lufthansa business class service, which began operations last June between Düsseldorf and New York Newark using a Boeing Business Jet. Two routes will be introduced on 19 May and 9 June using 48-seat Airbus A319 Long Range aircraft.
"Lufthansa has confirmed the concept works," says Thomas. "There is a lot of demand for a business-class shuttle and we have received calls from several airlines interested in providing a similar service."
Thomas says the airline business is in the throes of a major restructuring process and will in future be dominated by "a few mega carriers, regrouping the larger national airlines; low-cost carriers; and niche companies offering high quality at the top end of the market".
In the last couple of years the airlines have launched initiatives to stem the haemorrhage of first- and business-class passengers, says Thomas. "British Airways in partnership with UK charter broker Air Partner offered its passengers access to business aircraft and Virgin looked at acquiring Bombardier Global Expresses for its transatlantic routes."
PrivatAir is planning to plug the gap it says exists in the sole-use corporate shuttle market. The company already operates a regular shuttle from Norwich, New York, to Cincinnati, Ohio, for pharmaceuticals giant Procter & Gamble, and earlier this month began a service for Airbus employees between the manufacturer's European sites.
PrivatAir has formed a ground handling operation for business aircraft at its Geneva base. The partnership with Swissport, called PrivatPort, comes less than two years after the Swiss company acquired fixed-base operators Ogden Flight Services Group in Connecticut and Transair at Paris Le Bourget.
Source: Flight International
