Omni Aviation in Portugal reports that it is flying about 30 per cent more this year than last, and that around 90 per cent of this business is long range.

“One of our key businesses is the air cruises,” says Bruno Pires. “We are growing stronger in this market due to some very successful trips we've done in the past. We are getting requests from companies that were advised to call us due to our operational reliability and very flexible crews, always with a smile on their faces.” For instance, he remembers a prime example of teamwork in action: “A couple years ago we had one of our ACJs in Montevideo and for humanitarian reasons our passengers had to make an immediate departure to Beijing. We were fortunate to have crew members in north east Brazil who reinforced our crew to make it to Europe.

“The departure took place just a couple hours after the request was made and we positioned another crew in Munich for the last sector of the flight. What generally takes a couple of days to prepare we were able to do in a couple of hours. There are many other stories that we can mention, but the secret is to properly manage the correct positioning of our crew members.”

Pires continues: “Omni has three completely different ACJ cabin layouts, we offer a good range of services, therefore our main goal is to get each aircraft well known in its segment. The 29 seater is the best known, then the 48 seater quickly gained its own share in the market and our 19 seater is, for sure, one of the best aircraft for small vip groups.”

Meanwhile, sister company Omni Helicopters International has announced the appointment of Richard Burman as group ceo. He brings with him some 35 years of experience in the oil field services sector, working initially offshore as a geologist and then in various management and executive positions. In 2004, Burman moved to Bristow Group as svp, eastern hemisphere, where he was responsible for all non-American helicopter services of the company. In this role he over- saw and led the development of Bristow's international helicopter service businesses.

In 2010, he became svp global operations, responsible for a business with a fleet of almost 400 helicopters, mostly engaged in the oil and gas passenger transportation sector.

Based in Lisbon, OHI is a financial holding company engaged in fleet management and investments in helicopter operators providing transportation services to the offshore energy sector. Its helicopter fleet is mainly operated by Brazilian affiliate Omni Taxi Aéreo.