EBACE Show News - May 21, 2008 - (Page 46)

EBACE 2008 Spain’s Gestair Wants to Double in Size The Gestair Group of Spain—a business jet management, sales, charter and maintenance company and FBO chain—is on target for its $285 million drive to double its size by 2010. The plan is to invest in more business opportunities, grow its owned/managed fleet from 28 to 38 aircraft, and strengthen its infrastructure, while growing its FBO chain outside Spain for the first time. Its latest FBO development is a temporary joint venture with Assistair at El Prat Airport in Barcelona. The deal covers 2008 and 2009, with a possible one-year extension. The joint venture expects to handle 2,500 business flights and increase its activity by 20%. The FBO is positioned at El Prat’s new corporate aviation terminal. “The importance of this cannot be underestimated,” said José Ramón Barriocanal, the general manager director for Private Aviation Gestair Group. “Madrid and Barcelona account for around 80% of all business aviation activity in Spain.” In 2007, Gestair handled 1,400 of the 4,000 business aircraft from the old general aviation terminal at the airport. Since moving into the new facility on March 3 the company has serviced more than 300 operations and expects to serve more than 60% Gestair claims the first Cessan Citation Mustang to be registered in Spain. Gestair GM José Ramón Barriocanal. of the business aviation traffic there this year. Barriocanal says of his 28 owned and managed business jet fleet, “Around 25% are long-range aircraft, 40% medium/long range, and the rest are short-range business jets.” The total fleet includes Cessna Citations, Hawkers, Embraer Legacys, Bombardiers and Dassault Falcons. Five of the 28 aircraft are owned by Gestair. The company recently took delivery of its second Hawker 900XP. G e s t a i r ’s n e w l y d e l i v e r e d Citation Mustang (the first Spanish-registered aircraft) is available for charter at 2,100 euros per hour, and Barriocanal sees the aircraft being used in two roles: on demand and eventually with a fleet of them, operating on regular routes. “We are finding that the Mustang appeals to a new niche market and is bringing in new business from medium- and small-size companies. We will use the aircraft both nationally and internationally across Europe. “We are currently setting up a 50/50 joint venture company with Gestair’s FBO at Madrid is being augmented by Barcelona and is soon to be joined by Valencia and other locations. Iberia, to supply executive jet maintenance at a Madrid airport in June/July this year. The company will be known as GMAS [Gestair Maintenance Support] and will operate from a new hangar,” said Barriocanal. “Barajas Madrid International Airport is one of those airports we are looking at, but we are also looking at others.” Barriocanal says that he continues to look for new acquisitions, potential joint ventures and strategic agreement opportunities across Europe, whether it be FBOs, executive charter operators or allied maintenance companies. Already with the largest number of FBOs on the Iberian peninsula, Gestair will open at Valencia around July and is yet to name its first operation outside Spain. Barriocanal said he couldn’t comment on where the international sites might be, except to say that, “We are analyzing data at the moment.” His intention is to increase Gestair’s market share, which is currently at some 36% of the Spanish business aviation market, “but without affecting the quality of our services and our customers’ expectations.” Like all the other business jet companies based at Madrid’s Torrejon NATO base, Gestair is waiting to find out the date of the enforced move of everyone to Madrid-Getafe Airport (LEGT). The company is exhibiting at EBACE at Booth 413. 46 May 21, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EBACE Show News - May 21, 2008

A318 Elite is on a Roll A Circle Around London P&WC Deliveries Triple Avanti Sees Sales Shift RUAG Eyes Needy Cabins Global Gets Even NICEr Embraer Beefs Up Support Honeywell ‘Virtual VFR’ Signature Europe Grows Gestair Seeks to Double Aero-Dienst Turns 50 Gama Doubles in Size All is Not Woe with Oil Ocean Sky is Aggressive

EBACE Show News - May 21, 2008

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