Low cost air taxi Direct Fly debuts Twin Star at Oxford Airport

Wednesday 15th October, 2008

Effective this week, Direct Fly of Poland, in collaboration with UK-based air charter broker One Charter PLC, will base a Twin Star DA-42 new-generation light twin engined propeller aircraft at Oxford Airport for air taxi operations. It is the first Twin Star to be based at a UK airport for air charter and Direct Fly will fly the aircraft under its newly acquired EU Operations Certificate.

The new build, four-seat composite aircraft (three passengers and a pilot) is manufactured by Diamond Aircraft Industries of Austria. With a cruise performance of 304 km/164 kts an hour (188 mph), it combines outstanding safety, excellent economics and is environmentally friendly and fuel efficient - so you travel at Formula 1 speeds, but achieve typically 25 miles per gallon. The aircraft is ideally suited for flights up to 350-400 miles, but has a range of 1,661 km/897 nm. The DA-42 aircraft can operate at night and in IFR conditions (in cloud and inclement weather), fitted with state of the art Garmin G1000 avionics.

One Charter PLC will be marketing the aircraft (SP-NET) to its clientele throughout the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, plus near Europe. One Charter will also offer positioning flights to other, smaller airports such as Blackbushe and Fairoaks in Surrey, plus Cranfield and Stapleford in north London. Charter prices will are generally cheaper than the Piper Seneca on most runs, to date, typically the lowest cost air taxi offering in the UK. One way flights from Oxford Airport to the Channel Islands (three passengers) for example will be available for £895, less than £300 per passenger.

“We are delighted to bring Direct Fly and the Diamond Twin Star aircraft to Oxford Airport, with its attractive cost base, smart new business aviation terminal and its increased opening hours,” said Air Charter CEO Mike Ryan. “In this current economic climate, clients are thinking about whether or not to charter for short distances. With the Twin Star we are not only offering the lowest price aircraft for time pressed executives, but we will appeal to those who want to respect the environment too.”

“This aircraft will help executives maximise their productivity with affordable charter prices that in some cases compare very well for three people travelling by first class rail. It takes typically two station changes and well over five hours to get from say Oxford train station to Newcastle for example, for which the standard first class return rail fare is an extortionate £416. On the Twin Star, three passengers can be flown there in just over an hour and a half at a cost of £430 per passenger. We are very pleased to have the aircraft based at Oxford Airport,” said James Dillon-Godfray, Head of Marketing and Development.

www.oxfordairport.co.uk
www.oxfordjet.com

Editor’s notes

One Charter plc floated on PLUS Markets in April 2006. The Company's principal activities involve the provision of aircraft chartering, aircraft brokerage and aircraft management services along with a separate Cargo division for the transportation of a range of cargo such as outsized and humanitarian goods. www.oneairtaxi.co.uk for on line information or call 0208 122 9300.

Direct Fly, which originally started out as a regional airline flying domestic routes in Poland using Saab 340 aircraft, is now Poland’s first air taxi, executive ‘personal airline.’ It was awarded its AOC in August this year. The company is 100% owned by aviation investment specialist, AerFinance plc, which launched an IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in February 2008. www.directfly.org