Luxury charter operator VistaJet plans to double its fleet and revenues within four years as it targets expansion across the fast-growing countries of Brazil, Russia, India, Nigeria and China (BRINC).
"We have barely scratched the surface in the BRINC countries," said VistaJet's chief commercial officer, Ian Moore.
"We plan to take advantage of the growing demand for business aircraft travel across these regions and our immediate focus is to establish representative bases within China, and strengthen our presence in the west coast of Africa and Russia. We are unwavering in our commitment to these markets."
The Switzerland-headquartered company has seen its customer tally almost double since 2008, from 11,500 to more than 21,000 last year, and expects this number to soar again in 2012. VistaJet also expects to record a 25% increase in revenues for 2011 and again this year.
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"We have grown considerably throughout the financial crisis," said Moore. "Timing has been an advantage. While the traditional charter markets of Europe and US nosedived, VistaJet stuck to its strategy to go after the growth economies. This has paid off."
Moore also attributes VistaJet's success to its strategy of flying aircraft that are less than three years old. "People like to fly in new aircraft and the average age of our fleet is around one-and-a-half years."
VistaJet operates a 30-strong, all-Bombardier fleet of midsize, large cabin and ultra-long-range types. With a $2 billion order backlog - including 10 Global 8000s - VistaJet's fleet is set to double by 2015. "We plan to take delivery this year of four new aircraft - Challenger 605s and Global 6000s - and at the end of 2013 we hope to have our first [of 11] midsize Learjet 85s, " said Moore.
Given the increasing demand from its customers for long-haul travel, the midsize aircraft portfolio is not expected to account for more than a quarter of the fleet, admitted Moore.
Source: Flight International
