Austrian Mustang operator GlobeAir has acquired two more of the Citation VLJs for its homogenous fleet, bringing the total it owns to 16. The additions were required in order to support the company's strong growth in the first quarter of this year, which included 582 flights averaging one hour and 20 minutes. Utilisation also rose to an average of 157 flight hours per aircraft, marking a 31 per cent increase on the same period last year.

GlobeAir's early success in 2017 builds on strong growth in 2016. Last year, it delivered revenue of €21.3m, up 19.6 per cent on 2015.

Chief marketing and sales officer Mauro De Rosa says: “We are seeing strong and steady growth for our services. This is mainly driven by top executives who understand the opportunities that can be gained by saving time through efficient travel.

“Entrepreneurs are switching on to the idea that private jet charter is not just for the super-rich. In today's global economy, they see the value of using business aviation to speed up their deals and lift their companies to higher levels of efficiency. What is remarkable is that not only large corporations, but also local enterprises and promising start-ups, are making greater use of the air taxi industry.

“It is obvious that flying directly to the final destination by private jet is more convenient and comfortable for those who have limited time, although what is more important is that a GlobeAir flight allows the user to schedule business travel to at least three times more destinations in Europe than airlines.”

The three departure countries from which GlobeAir saw the biggest increase in cross border revenue flights were France, the UK and Switzerland, which rose by 19, 36 and five per cent respectively in 2016 departures, versus 2015.