Stuttgart headquartered Jetline Fluggesellschaft is celebrating the intercontinental dimension that a Citation Sovereign has brought to its fleet. "We have been flying mostly within Europe and North Africa," says coo charter sales Jan Dietz. "But with the new Sovereign we've taken on board the capability to service destinations in Asia, North America and Africa. Even South America is possible, as was demonstrated by our recent trip to Buenos Aires."

Jetline, which has ordered two Grob spns to be delivered in mid-2009, also operates a seven-seat CJ2 and a five-seat CJ1 from Stuttgart along with a five-seat Beech King Air F90.

"Our customers are mostly business clients from the economically-strong Stuttgart region, where many worldwide operating companies are located," Dietz says. "Enquiries from brokers with their widespread clientele are always welcome but Jetline is expanding its customer base of wealthy private travellers."

Dietz says Jetline has built a fleet able to meet demand ranging from short to long haul and from cost-effective private charter to absolute luxury. "There is a strong demand for quality service paired with absolute reliability and there are surprisingly few established competitors in our home base region, given the backlash against airline strikes, queues and bad, unfriendly service."

But Jetline, launched in March 2005 and operating under its own AOC from April 2006, intends to expand further. "We are interested in a large aircraft such as a G-550 or a Global Express to round off our fleet," says Dietz, who reports rising demand from business executives and for private leisure trips to destinations including London, Milan and Paris.

"Within three years Jetline has been developed from scratch to an operator with a wide-ranging fleet for every purpose. It is one of the fastest growing executive aircraft operators in Germany."

The two founders, Udo Hoerz and Benjamin Falkenstein, ceo, have both previously been managing partners in their family businesses. They first established the company with a turboprop and a helicopter. February 2007 saw the beginning of operations with a CJ1 followed by a CJ2 in September 2007.

Dietz says: "We have a young and ambitious team and the company aims only to recruit the best staff, mostly through personal recommendation. They have to be able to deal with people as important individuals and make them feel comfortable."

Long haul charter

The Citation Sovereign, offered for charter in a nine-seat configuration, has given staff at Jetline an increasing appetite to operate long haul flights in larger jets. "The acquisition means that we cannot be included in the smaller aircraft operator category," says Dietz. "With the Sovereign's weight of over 10 tons, Jetline is seen to be complying with the relevant tougher regulations for heavier aircraft enforced by the German Federal Office for Civil Aviation (Luftfahrtbundesamt) concerning safety and training and documentation."

Plans to add longer range aircraft, perhaps a G-550 or a Global Express to the Jetline fleet have received added impetus after a memorable first flight in the Sovereign to South America.

Dietz says: "It was a hugely enjoyable experience for the crew. The client wanted to go to Rio for two days and later on to Buenos Aires for three days and then back home to Nice in France. To travel the full distance we had to tankstop on Canary Islands and in Natal, Brazil, each way, but our Sovereign performed very well. The flight was accomplished even faster than expected, although range is a problem on such long flights as the two tankstops illustrate. Nevertheless, the client accepted the inconvenience of the stops which were ameliorated by the good service provided."

Dietz adds: "The prospect of aircraft that could make such trips with fewer tankstops is one that we all relish."