London, UK, 2013-11-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — Air Partner, the air charter broker and Royal Warrant Holder, is delighted to announce that its tour operator division has had a very successful summer season.
Between May and October 2013, the two Air Partner chartered Germania aircraft have:
- Flown over 3,800 hours
- Carried over 100,000 passengers
CAA statistics for the period show that:
- 83% of Air Partner’s UK partner flights departed and arrived on time
- 92% of Air Partner’s UK partner flights departed and arrived within 30 minutes
- The average delay time for flights in the period was 9 minutes
- In the busy month of August this reduced to just 3 minutes
- By comparison in August, the best peer achieved 74% on time performance and the worst just 58%
Summer 2013 has seen Air Partner base two Airbus A319 aircraft at London Gatwick and Manchester, to service intensive flying programmes for clients in the tour operator sector, including Sunvil Holidays and Olympic Holidays. Air Partner utilised these aircraft from May to October, with a third (Boeing 737-800 aircraft) added between August and October, to supplement capacity during the traditional peak summer holiday season.
Over the last six months, the two Germania aircraft have flown over 3,800 hours and carried over 100,000 passengers. The on-time performance over the period to end August shows that 83% of the flights departed and arrived back on time*, 92% within 30 minutes and 96% within one hour of the scheduled time, with an average delay of 9 minutes. In August alone, the longest delay on all flights was 34 minutes and the average delay in the month 3 minutes. Internal figures for September and October show equally impressive figures.
Internationally, Air Partner’s tour operator division based dedicated aircraft at Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Lyon Saint-Exupery airports, and the Group plans to build on its international offering in this sector in 2014 with more news of these developments to follow.
Air Partner will maintain the Gatwick-based aircraft throughout the forthcoming winter season to service the recently announced contract with Hotelplan, for their Inghams Ski, Espirit and Ski Total brands. The Group will also be adding an additional Boeing 737-800 aircraft to be based at London Gatwick from summer 2014, in line with demand.
Alan Murray, Air Partner’s Director of Inclusive Tour Programmes, said, “We are absolutely delighted to be able to announce on-time performance at this level for summer 2013 – To put these into perspective, according to the CAA punctuality statistics, in the month of August, our average delay of 3 minutes, compares to the best performing in the peer group at 74% on-time and average 9 minute delay and the worst 58% on-time and average delay of 26 minutes**. These are extremely impressive figures, and are a great mark of success for Air Partner’s Tour Operator division, which has been rapidly growing its presence in the sector since 2012.
Recognising that punctuality is a significant barometer in how customers value the service provided, we select our partner airlines and their aircraft extremely carefully, placing the customer, front of mind. The on-time performance demonstrated by these figures is testament to our partners and their co-operation with all of our team here in delivering exceptional customer service.
Air Partner’s in-house expertise, 52 year trading history and strong network of relationships enables us to provide our clients with reliable solutions tailored to their individual flying requirements and budgets. We are pleased with the strong progress we are making growing our market share in this area of strategic focus, and look forward to further building this during 2014.”
Air Partner is a leading provider of commercial and private aviation services to industry, commerce, governments and private individuals worldwide. Air Partner holds a Royal Warrant from HM Queen Elizabeth II and flies for six of the G8 Group of governments. The Company also works with a number of other leading tour operators, cruise lines and airline partners globally.
Media Enquiries:
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Tom Allison M. 0778 999 8020
Joanna Crawford M. 0777 625 3482
*On-Time performance is measured based on flights departing and arriving early to 15 minutes of their scheduled time (Source CAA)
** Figures based on like for like Gatwick and Manchester departure and arrival statistics (source CAA) for August 2013 against the three largest charter airlines for their total charter operations during the same period.
Source – UK Punctuality statistics as published by the CAA to end August 2013
About Air Partner
Air Partner has been trading for over 50 years and is a world leading provider of aviation charter services to industry, commerce, governments and individuals worldwide. The Group is globally recognised as a leading charter broker and organises ad hoc aircraft charters of every type for any reason. Its three main divisions comprise Air Partner Commercial Jets, Air Partner Private Jets and
Air Partner Freight. The Commercial Jets division charters large airliners to move groups of any size. Private Jets offers the company’s pre-paid JetCard scheme and on-demand charter. With its headquarters alongside Gatwick airport in the UK, Air Partner operates 24/7 year-round and employs 225 aviation professionals across Europe, North America, the Far East and Middle East. Air Partner is the only company in the aviation industry to hold a Royal Warrant, a globally recognised mark of excellence.