The imminent arrival of commercial single-engined turboprops for public charter IFR may be more of an ‘evolution’ than a ‘revolution’, but the 150-strong delegates attending the SETops2016 Conference and
Fly- in this week at CAE Oxford Academy, London Oxford Airport, came away thinking there were some firm opportunities once EASA relaxes the ruling.
" It's only taken 10
years," said Conference Chairman James Dillon-Godfray
in his opening remarks, " but now there are a cluster of advanced new-generation models from Daher
[TBM], Pilatus [ PC-12] and Textron [the new Denali] joining the venerable Cessna
Caravan, and set to play a wider role in business
aviation when the new rule [expected by January
2017] is approved."
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Photography:
Paul Cordwell |
Highlights of the
event,
which was organised by Emerald Media &
BlueSky News and supported by London Oxford
Airport, included informative panel discussions
and a static display featuring Pilatus, Daher,
Beechcraft and Cessna aircraft.
Entrepreneurial operators
such as Voldirect from France, Hendell Aviation
from Finland, JetFly from Luxembourg and Planesense
from the USA, have already made such operations work using
co-ownership/AOC models, but agreed that the UK
model will not be without its challenges -
particularly in the area of pilot training. They
also cautioned that smaller airports, undoubtedly
set to benefit from receiving these aircraft,
may not be able to afford the necessary equipment to handle them.
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Photography:
Paul Cordwell |
California's Surf
Air, also attending, is expected to be the one of the first to bring Pilatus PC-12 services to the UK under
the AOC of TAG Aviation, adapting its model from the
US.
Several speakers, including European Regions Airline Association Director General
Simon NcNamara said the turboprop was back in vogue amongst ERA members, and for the first time 51% of their combined fleet is turboprop. Passengers will be more influenced by price, a brand new aircraft and
a comfortable interior, rather than the single engine factor, delegates heard.
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Photography:
Paul Cordwell |
SETops IMC will give customers more choice in business aviation. It will open a raft of smaller airfields and serve as an incubator for future aircraft ownership. Banks are more likely to finance these aircraft if they are under the AOC of an established operator and their multi-role use and high utilisation should make them an interesting proposition as a fleet
addition.
Aoife
O’Sullivan, speaker and Partner at The Air Law Firm summed up the presentations and audience mood as ‘refreshing enthusiasm.’
BlueSky's
in-depth report on SETOps 2016 will be published
in next week's issue.
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