The rise of Czech-based billionaires up the top 100 rich lists is just one of the drivers that has influenced the business of Prague-based operator ABS Jets. “It’s a logical situation,” says marketing manager Petr Wessnitzer. You can see that the businesses of Czech-based clients are growing, and they are doing well worldwide, so ABS Jets is very busy too. That’s why we added five new aircraft in five months.”

The company now has three aircraft with charter availability; a Citation XLS+, a G200 and a Challenger 605. They came onto the fleet over the past four to five months, and bring the fleet total up to 17 aircraft altogether.

"We are very pleased with the current growth, thanks to which we are once again expanding the range of services for our clients. The new Cessna Citation XLS+, Gulfstream G200 and Bombardier Challenger 605 aircraft are technologically advanced aircraft from the world's leading manufacturers, which suitably complement our fleet exactly where our clients expect it, particularly in the mid-size and super mid-size category, which is ideal for offering private flights on the charter market," says CEO Jan Kralik.

The new arrivals were originally with a different operator but their owners transferred them onto the ABS management offering. A further two aircraft, a Gulfstream G500 and G550, also arrived but with no charter availability.

“We do maintenance and operate them for the clients, and we also provide flight planning. But our main services are management and maintenance. The departments are in the same building so we are a one stop shop,” adds Wessnitzer.

Next year ABS Jets will be 20 years old, and the five aircraft additions represent growth of 40 per cent. There are more than 300 people in the company, 60 of whom were welcomed to cope with the fleet arrivals. “We have had to change our procedures and our personnel in the last quarter of a year,” says Wessnitzer. “Each of our departments now has more experts, which is great both for the company and our quality of services.”

The company is proud to have jets from the big OEMs: Bombardier, Gulfstream, Embraer, Cessna and Dassault. It also has one helicopter from Airbus, an H145. The Cessna is a midsize, the G200 has exceptional range for its size, and the heavy Challenger 605 can go almost all the way around the world.

“The shorter range is a little new for us,” says Wessnitzer. “It is the last piece of the puzzle. We have the heavy jets so we wanted some smaller aircraft, to be even more flexible and to have more effective options for clients."

The three charter aircraft are based in Prague and started charter operations just this month, but already the company is struggling to meet demand. “Capacity of the aircraft is still not enough for us,” says Wessnitzer. “Direct requests are higher than we have room for, so maybe we will need another one.”