Oriens Aviation, the exclusive sales and service centre for Pilatus Aircraft in the British Isles, delivered the newest ‘third-generation’ Pilatus PC-12 NGX to a private customer based in North West England today, 30 July 2020. With its stylish executive six to eight-seat interior layout, the aircraft is ideal for business and leisure use.

“It is notable we have been able to conclude this delivery to a new Pilatus customer, considering the challenging environment we are all living through,” said Oriens Aviation CEO Edwin Brenninkmeyer, crediting the Pilatus’ team in Stans, Switzerland, the supply chain and other parties who were instrumental in pulling together, despite the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

The PC-12 NGX is the newest addition to the best-selling single-engined turboprop family.  Three years in the making, the NGX was unveiled during last year’s NBAA Show. It features a raft of enhancements over the PC-12 NG centred on an improved Pratt & Whitney PT6E-67XP engine, electronic propeller and, (a first in its size category) –  a full authority digital engine control (FADEC) system. The cabin interior is modelled on the PC-24 Super Versatile Jet, in collaboration with BMW Designworks.  With 10% more window area, the cabin is notably brighter and features more headroom, compared with the earlier PC-12 NG model. The executive version features fully reclining seats and improved lumbar comfort, while the NGX can also be outfitted with the latest in WiFi connectivity. A low-speed propeller mode delivers considerably reduced cabin noise for enhanced cabin comfort. An Advanced Cockpit Environment houses Honeywell’s Epic 2.0 avionics and a touchscreen avionics controller. 

“The PC-12 NGX is an outstanding performance turboprop,” said Edwin, having recently concluded flight training on the aircraft himself. “It represents excellent value for money, with an up to 1,800 nm range and a maximum cruise speed of 290 knots.  To date, 20 of the latest generation model have been sold worldwide, boosting the number of PC-12s flying worldwide to over 1,750.”

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Pandemic ‘heightens interest’ among buyers

“We are finding ourselves in a perfect storm for customer interest – not just as a versatile and sensibly priced executive aircraft (Year 2021 unit price is $ 5.5 million for a standard configured passenger aircraft), as well as in special mission, medevac roles too,” he noted.

“There is an acute emphasis on health and safety in air travel and passenger nervousness regarding the ‘big airport’ experience. These trends are reflecting the increased enquiries we are seeing among savvy entrepreneurs and business owners who want to keep their employees and families safe,”  Edwin highlighted.

New Pilatus PC-12 NGX’s are now sold out for 2020, with Oriens’ next NGX delivery scheduled in mid-2021.  Oriens also has access to near-new, low-time PC-12 NG inventory for UK and Ireland clients looking for immediate delivery, however.

“The PC-12 has been amazingly heroic during the pandemic, showing its versatility all over Europe, repatriating passengers, transporting Covid-19 patients and PPE,” Edwin stated.   Oriens too has kept its MRO business at London Biggin Hill Airport open throughout to support essential scheduled maintenance, while adhering to social distancing processes.

Oriens’ sales team identifies ‘syndicate’ opportunities

Its bolstered sales team is ready to explore and embrace innovative new business opportunities. Sacha Demelo joined the company last year as Sales Director, from a decade with Bombardier in the UK and Canada, where he served in various sales roles within Bombardier’s Commercial and Business Aircraft divisions.  “Moving to Oriens has brought me into closer contact with private customers and their unique requirements,” he says. “It is satisfying to witness first-hand the positive impact that Pilatus aircraft ownership has on our customers’ lifestyles.”

Currently Oriens is talking with a few prospective customers who are interested in putting the PC-12 onto an Air Operator’s Certificate. It sees increased prospects for UK-based shared ownership / syndicate acquisition models too and is working with partners on rolling out innovative financing packages to support such interest.

Supporting Sacha in sales, and the wider Oriens team with digital marketing and specific campaign activity, is Sales Associate James Banham.  James has a background in aircraft charter and sales.

www.oriensaviation.com

www.pilatus-aircraft.com

Media contacts:

Jurgita Brenninkmeyer, Oriens Aviation

Tel: +44 (0) 7904 928928

Alison Chambers, Emerald Media Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 1420 560094/ Mobile: +44 (0) 7721 882939

Key business route returning to the central London airport from 6th September

– Twice-daily flights between the two global financial centres

– Lufthansa latest major airline to resume London City flights as demand from passengers continues

London City Airport and Lufthansa have announced that flights between central London and Frankfurt will resume at the start of September.

The German airline, one of Europe’s largest and most established carriers, will commence two flights a day between the two global financial centres from Monday 7^th September.

London City Airport’s Head of Aviation, Anne Doyere, said:

“The resumption of our Frankfurt route is a significant milestone for London City Airport and a positive sign for the UK’s and Europe’s economic recovery, restoring a very popular connection between two of the world’s most important financial centres.

“We have already seen demand from passengers to travel, especially for a summer holiday after months of lockdown. As restrictions continue to ease, with businesses increasing activity and more people getting back to work, we anticipate demand for business travel on routes such as this will grow as we head into the autumn. Lufthansa’s decision to resume this route with twice-daily flights demonstrates their confidence in that too.

“We are working with all of our airline partners to re-establish other important and popular routes as soon as possible, to provide the fast and convenient connectivity needed to recover from the impact of the Coronavirus.”

Lufthansa will initially operate two flights a day between London City Airport and Frankfurt, offering passengers the opportunity to connecting into the airline’s wider international route network from its Frankfurt hub. When combined with its subsidiaries, Lufthansa is the second largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried.

Safe, Careful, Speedy Journeys

London City Airport temporarily suspended flights for nearly three months between 25th March and 21st June, in response to the escalating public health crisis and government lockdown measures. During that period, the airport worked behind the scenes to create a safe environment.

On this, Anne Doyere added:

“Keeping passengers and our staff safe is our priority. To ensure this, we have carefully put in place measures that often exceed the official guidance, so passengers can book and travel in confidence. Speed and convenience have been a key consideration too. We still offer the fastest airport experience in London, meaning this uniquely important aspect of the customer experience at London City has not changed.”

Measures include rapid contact-free temperature checking technology, digital crowd monitoring technology, an enhanced cleaning regime using an anti-microbial surface treatment, and social distancing procedures such as one-way systems and Perspex screens. Passengers also need to wear face coverings in the airport.

Similarly, Frankfurt Airport has implemented a wide range of hygiene measures to keep passengers safe, under the banner #SafeAtFRA. Passengers must wear face coverings, social distancing rules are upheld, screens have been installed, card payments are encouraged, hand sanitiser stations are available and cleaning around the airport has been increased.

Ends.

Notes to Editors

Demand: a survey conducted in June of over 4,700 London City Airport passengers found demand to get back to flying quickly:

• 79% were either very likely or quite likely to travel when they are told it is safe to do so by the Government and airports or airlines
• 42% plan to travel for leisure within the next three months
• 41% anticipate they will take a flight for business within the next three months – contradicting claims that business travel is over

More here.

Routes currently operating:

• Amsterdam (AMS)
• Ibiza (IBZ)
• Palma de Mallorca (PMI)
• Málaga (AGP)
• Florence (FLR)
• Luxembourgh (LUX)
• Dublin (DUB)
• Edinburgh (EDI)
• Glasgow (GLA)
• Dundee (DND)
• Teesside (MME)
• Isle of Man (IOM)

From 1^st August: Nice (NCE), Menorca-Mahon (MAH), Faro (FAO) and Bergerac (EGC)

From 31^st August: Vilnius (VNO)

Concessions currently open are Costa Coffee, Café Nero, WHSmith and Boots. Retail, food and beverage concessions are reopening in line with passenger numbers.

Coronavirus Measures: a range of measures have been put in place at the airport to create a safe and convenient environment for passengers and staff, including:

• An enhanced cleaning regime, including a long-life anti-microbial surface treatment used throughout the airport
• Touch-free hand sanitiser stations
• One-way systems
• Perspex screens at key points of interaction, such as check-in desks
• Clear signage and floor markings to help maintain social distancing and guide you through the airport
• Advance crowd monitoring technology to identify and manage busy areas, using CrowdVision
• Non-contact, automatic temperature checking technology for rapid preliminary screening
• Staff using face masks or visors and gloves

More here.

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• Air bp is supplying sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), produced by Neste, for Airbus delivery flights from Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport.
• First flights fuelled are two A321LR on lease to Air Transat from AerCap.

Air bp, the international aviation fuel products and service supplier, is collaborating with Airbus to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for delivery flights from Airbus’ facility at Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW/EDHI). The first aircraft are two Air Transat A321LR destined for Montreal, Canada.

To enable SAF to be used for these flights, Air bp established a supply route, including transportation and storage facilities at the airport. As part of this agreement, Air bp also supplied SAF for transportation flights from Hamburg by the Airbus A300-600ST Beluga in December 2019.

Martin Thomsen, CEO, Air bp, said: “We are excited to extend our collaboration with Airbus to fuel delivery flights from Hamburg for the first time with sustainable aviation fuel, building on previous delivery flights from Mobile, Alabama. bp’s ambition is to be a net zero company by 2050 or sooner, and to help the world to get to net zero. We believe SAF is one of the aviation industry’s key routes to reducing carbon emissions and we are committed to supporting our customers to realise their low carbon ambitions.”

The SAF supplied is produced by Neste and is made from non-palm renewable and sustainable raw materials and can reduce up to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions over its life cycle compared to conventional jet fuel.¹

Air bp has been supplying SAF since 2010 and to date has supplied 16 airports and 20 customers globally. Air bp has been supplying SAF to Germany since late 2019.

In 2018, Air bp agreed a collaboration with Neste to develop SAF supply chains, and in 2016 invested $30 million in waste to fuels company Fulcrum BioEnergy.

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