Club Airways has selected Avcraft Aviation's Dornier Envoy for its private member airline and has earmarked service entry for 1 July of the first of two 16-seat aircraft, the corporate version of the 33-seat 328Jet regional aircraft.
The Envoys will be operated under a wet lease by UK-based charter company and Club Airways operating partner Bookajet International, replacing the Raytheon Hawker 800 on the Geneva, Switzerland-based company's busiest routes.
Club Airways founder and chief executive Hans Schwab says the privately owned company will add other large cabin types as demand picks up and is evaluating the Embraer Legacy.
"We will never introduce aircraft above 16 seats," Schwab says. As well as the mid-size Hawkers, Club Airways uses entry level and light cabin business jets, including Cessna's CitationJet, Bravo and Ultra, on its expanding route network which covers Geneva to Basle, Zurich, Paris, Milan and London.
The first Envoy will service the Paris route, where there are six flights a day between the two cities, and the second will join the London route in August, where there are four flights a day. Both routes have a load factor of around 65% per flight. The aircraft may also be used to service Club's new weekend operation between Geneva and Nice in the South of France. The launch is set for next month and will operate between April and October.
Source: Flight International
