Taiwan’s Sunrise Airlines plans to acquire a Hawker 400XP for delivery this year. Sunrise executive vice-president Wilson Kao says it will use the 400XP on aeromedical evacuation flights, but plans to launch a business jet charter service later.
Sunrise operates four Kawasaki BK117 helicopters on aeromedical evacuation flights. It has been evaluating business jets for two years, but delayed acquisition pending the implementation of new regulations, which for the first time will authorise business aircraft charter operations in Taiwan. The new rules have been drafted by Taiwan’s civil aviation authority and submitted to Taipei’s legislature.
“We’ll do medevac first and get ourselves positioned for business jet operations,” Kao says. He says Sunrise aims to later acquire larger business jets, such as the Hawker 800 or Bombardier Learjet 60, but only after the new regulations come into effect.
Source: Flight International
