JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON
Q-Seven abandons adult entertainment for business aviation with Partner Air acquisition
Internet software company Q-Seven Systems has acquired Irish charter operator Partner Air as part of its efforts to build a European web-based business aviation brokerage.
Partner Air was originally owned by Q-Seven majority shareholder Peter Kraettli, but the Dublin-based operator has become a full subsidiary of Q-Seven through an equity swap. Kraettli retains ownership of a business jet brokerage company in Germany, also called Partner Air.
Partner Air Ireland recently sold a Cessna 411 and a Cessna 421 and currently leases a Cessna Citation I.
The main activity of Q-Seven (formerly known as Downstream) was previously subscription adult entertainment and online gambling. It now plans to build a European business aircraft marketplace based on the company's modular internet trading software.
Q-Seven president Ludger Kuhnen says the eventual plan is to use Q-Seven software to build an internet-based portal for business aviation brokerage. Only 5% of German businesses currently use business aviation, compared with 30% in the USA, says Kuhnen. Q-Seven contacted several European charter operators to assess capacity in the market and saw the need for a market consolidator, he says. "There are lots of small European charter operators with one to three aircraft who do no marketing and only get word-of-mouth recommendations," he says. "It is our aim to provide a gateway between customers and operators," he adds.
The company is building a database of European charter operators and expects to launch a service by the end of this year, initially in Germany and later extending to the rest of Europe.
Source: Flight International
