Starwings, based in Dortmund, Germany, is looking to expand its charter output, after a promising 2014 so far. Says quality manager Frank Achner: “This year our charter business increased and fleet grew, and we are expecting three to four more aircraft to join us.

“We currently have nine CJ aircraft on our AOC. The range and performance of the CJ3 is perfect for our operation in Europe and the reliability is very good so far. We are seeing a lot of change in charter companies, and demand for business travel is slowly rising.”

The company will also provide Cessna CJ series training at its simulator facility in Dortmund airport. The programme has been approved by EASA and will include initial, recurrent and TRI training for CJ pilots.

Starwings is not just confining its ambitions to Citations; Achner indicates that the company is considering two King Airs along with a Phenom 300 and another CJ before the year is out.

He is proud of the work carried out by the company's whole team this year, but does admit that 'bureacratic regulations' are a significant burden: “This is our biggest challenge, and so we have had to increase the number of our personnel in order to overcome it. Meeting the additional rules and completing the paperwork consumes a lot of manpower.”