Germany's Air Alliance is systematically modernising and expanding its fleet ready for an anticipated upturn in business levels. "We have just added a Citation Sovereign and will probably bring a second one into service soon," the company's Carolin Schmidt says.

"One of our Learjet 35As, dedicated for ambulance flight missions, has recently received an extensive overhaul including a refurbished interior, conversion to 2C engines with better performance and several technical upgrades. These upgrades include new avionics with second FMS Honeywell GNS-XLS and Jet Call; FreeFlight Selcal and full Raisbeck ZR Lite Performance Kit including Avcon R/X upgrades."

The company now intends to similarly upgrade its whole ambulance fleet.

Schmidt adds: "Even in these poor market conditions Air Alliance invests continuously in safety and upgrades of its fleet in order to provide the best service possible and to be well prepared for future increasing demand."

Air Alliance currently operates four Learjet 35As, a Learjet 55ER, a Learjet 60 and four Piper Cheyennes. It works in cooperation with the University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg, the 'Marburg Nursing Team' and the German Red Cross Emergency Services of Central Hesse.

Schmidt adds: "We bring together both aviation and medical expertise. From the moment the patient is collected from anywhere in the world until the handover at the destination hospital, highly qualified teams provide patients with seamless bed-to-bed medical care".

The company takes care of patients ranging from accident victims who require monitoring to critically ill intensive care patients. The medical care on board of an Air Alliance Medflight is provided by an interdisciplinary team consisting of an emergency doctor and an intensive care nurse or paramedic. Special qualifications and several years of experience in critical care transport are a basic requirement.

Schmidt says: "We only use emergency doctors who are experienced intensive care specialists from the Centre for Emergency Medicine of the University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg.

"The members of these medical teams carry out more than 1,500 transfers of intensive and critical care patients every year and therefore have extensive experience in carrying out all related tasks."

Air Alliance aircraft are equipped with the critical care transfer system of Central Hesse. The equipment, provided in modular containers, can be flexibly extended and adapted.

"This equipment, which can be installed within the shortest of time frames, is standard in ground-based professional critical care transfer. It ranges from defibrillators and high-quality ventilators to transport incubators for the smallest of air passengers. If necessary, new equipment can be added," Schmidt adds.

The company, launched more than 10 years ago, which also has its own in-house maintenance operation, annually carries out more than 1,500 transfers of intensive and critical care patients.