Former MGM Grand Airlines owner Richard Page has created a new US VIP charter carrier and leased an Airbus A319 to support a September launch.
Blue Moon Aviation signed at Paris seven-year deals with Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) and Sogerma Services. SALE has leased an ex-Sabena and Luxor A319 to Blue Moon. Sogerma will reconfigure the A319 to seat 56-70 passengers and maintain the aircraft.
The deals give Airbus its first VIP operator in the USA and SALE its first VIP aircraft. Blue Moon chief executive Richard Page says: "We're interested in aggressively expanding" with additional A320 family aircraft.
He adds that Blue Moon is in talks with several A320 operators in the USA to provide crew and insurance for his new VIP operation. Blue Moon has already signed up a National Basketball Association (NBA) team as a customer from October and seeks to win a multiple team NBA contract formerly held by Champion Air. Page is a former owner of Champion, previously known as MGM, before he sold it in 1997.
As part of the deal, Page agreed not to form another charter carrier for three years. He instead served as a vice-president for Avolar, negotiating a deal for 15 ACJs that fell through when the United Airlines subsidiary folded before launching.
Source: Flight International
