UK corporate charter operator Club328 is looking to expand its operations into the European market, with possible bases in Ireland and France, after announcing the purchase of five new aircraft.
Earlier this month the operator revealed plans to acquire two Beechcraft Premier Is and two Premier IAs on a five-year lease purchase, with funding from an as-yet unnamed lender. The aircraft are due for delivery between the end of this year and March 2006.
Club328 has also reached an agreement with the administrator of AvCraft Aerospace for a new Dornier 328Jet to be delivered in early January, and is looking to add another of the type in March under its plan to have the largest UK-owned private jet fleet by mid-2006. The 328Jet will be completed in a 14-seat configuration and will be fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks to extend its range from 3,520km (1,900nm) to 4,070km.
The purchases follow Club328’s recent acquisition of a Hawker 700 and a Dornier 328 turboprop and the company looks set to meet its target of a 10-aircraft fleet by the end of the year.
With its latest acquisitions, Club328 will look to expand into Europe and is studying the possibility of basing one aircraft at Dublin’s business aviation airport, Weston Aerodrome, and two in the south of France at Nice or Cannes. It is also considering adding a long-range business jet for transatlantic charter services, possibly by 2007, says chief executive Mike Farge.
ANDREW COSTERNON/BIGGIN HILL
Source: Flight International
