Air Harrods is marking its 20th year of operations at London Stansted airport. The business was founded when the former owner of the Harrods Knightsbridge store Mohamed Al-Fayed expanded his personal helicopter fleet and decided to offer luxury helicopter services to the open market for charter. The fleet initially comprised a Sikorsky 76A+, a Sikorsky 76B and an Aerospatiale AS355F2 Twin Squirrel, and Air Harrods completed more than 100 missions in its first year.

After a decade of operations the company was averaging at least 1,000 flying hours per aircraft per year, but five years later it turned its attention to private management, and charter took on a secondary role. Today Air Harrods manages a fleet of helicopters that fly globally and are both land and yacht-based. The company employs 12 staff, and brokers charters to events including the British Grand Prix, many music festivals and a host of other social and sporting venues.

“While the aircraft are primarily used as a valuable business tool, one client flew into London Stansted on a private jet, then flew on the S-76 helicopter to collect a kitten from a breeder before returning with the kitten to their private jet and travelling to Russia,” reveals sales and marketing director Will Holroyd.