Hamlin Jet has added a Learjet 60 to its managed fleet at Luton Airport. The aircraft is the last to leave the Learjet facility in Tucson, Arizona, which has closed due to corporate reorganisation.

For the last 30 years, LR60s have been built at the facility in Wichita, Kansas, before being flown ‘green’ to Tucson where they were painted and electronics, avionics and interiors were fitted.

Managing director Mike Hamlin believes that the aircraft will fit neatly into its fleet, which consists of two Learjet 45s and a Cessna CJ1. “It has a standard seven seat interior and a microwave in the galley. When you’re climbing out in the cold at seven o’clock in the morning, a warm croissant sure beats a cold one!”

The company anticipates that the aircraft, which is operated exclusively for private use, will make between 300-350 hours of flight per year, flying to Russia and throughout Europe and the Mediterranean region.

For Hamlin, the only disadvantage of note is the long runway requirement. “It uses slightly more runway than the average corporate jet but if you don’t need to operate into airfields with less than 4,000 feet of runway, it’s not really a problem,” he commented.

The company began operating over 25 years ago and, despite Hamlin’s fondness for Learjets, is keen to make clear that it has no affinity with any particular aircraft manufacturers. “When new customers come to us we have to be certain that we are advising them in their best interests, because they will find out whether we are right or not six months after they’ve acquired the aeroplane. Therefore, we are very cautious that we don’t have any affiliation with any manufacturers at all, so we can remain impartial and suggest aircraft that really fit the bill.

“What makes us somewhat unique is that we offer a service whereby we take the client through the first stages of selecting an aircraft, right through to its evaluation, acquisition and management. When a client selects an aircraft, we fly it to Luton and put it into service with our crew, in our hangar and our engineering team look after it. It’s a ‘turnkey’ service.”

Hamlin believes that the charter market in the UK, in addition to aircraft sales across Europe, is at a peak period, having finally stabilised and recovered from the effects of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

“9/11 had a traumatic impact on the market and resulted in some extreme positives and negatives. The positives were that many people thought of acquiring their own aircraft simply to have control over who they flew with. The negatives were that the very same people were worried that terrorism would instigate a world recession, so they decided not to spend their money on anything in case they needed it the following year, so there was really a neutral effect regarding the market.

“In the last year we have seen the market in Europe and the US blossoming, almost into a boom period like we had five years ago. Bombardier, for example, has already had a record year in Europe – Europeans are buying aircraft at an unprecedented rate.

The manufacturers can’t produce anything like enough aircraft and as a result, aircraft delivery times have, in general, increased from eight months to 18 months.”

Though the future of the charter market in Europe may be looking up, the same cannot be said for the Learjet facility at Tucson. For both Hamlin and the team in Arizona, the final aircraft to leave the facility will hold special significance as it marks the end of an era – Mike Hamlin was the first client to take delivery of a Learjet at the facility almost 30 years ago.

“There was a huge crowd out to see us leave,” he said, “and when I got back to my office there was an email from Learjet’s Rob Morton, which read: ‘After takeoff, we watched you until we couldn’t see you any more.’”