Hamilton International airport, Toronto-based AMO, FBO and charter operator Jetport has purchased a brand new Pilatus PC-12, due for delivery in May 2023. It will join the company's current five-strong fleet comprising three Challenger 604/605s, one Gulfstream 150 and a Gulfstream 100.

"The PC-12 has great specifications," says commercial director Mike Miguel. "It can reach heights of 30,000 ft in 26.5 minutes and has a cruise speed of 500 km/h. It has a length of 14.40m and a height of 4.26m, making it perfect for a crew of one to two pilots and nine passengers. This will allow Jetport to diversify its fleet. On top of that there is enough demand out of the Great Toronto area for that type of aircraft."

In addition, sister company Fox Harb’r Golf Resort in Nova Scotia is one of the few Virtuoso resorts with a jet private landing strip. The Pilatus will enable the company to coordinate travel into Fox Harb’r for small groups looking to visit the resort.

More aircraft may be on the way as the company wants to expand awareness especially in the US and for transient aircraft.

Miguel adds: "Toronto is the largest and main business centre in Canada, comparable to NYC for the US. Jetport is based out of Hamilton Ontario which is just 40 miles west of the city of Toronto, and serves as both a commercial, cargo and business/private aviation center for the area. While Toronto Pearson airport has slot restrictions and more, Hamilton Ontario is open 24/7, 365 days a year. It is an authorised international and trans-border point of entry into Canada. It also has lower operating costs for business and private aviation."

He continues: "We have hangar space and are looking for more aircraft to manage. We should close the year with two new aircraft in our fleet. We are currently having conversations with both corporate aircraft owners and with individuals looking for new management companies in the Greater Toronto area, where the reduced hangar space cost, operational capabilities and private tarmac become attractive for the relocation of their aircraft. Partnerships with USA and/or Canadian fractional operators are underway."

Jetport has been providing corporate aviation services for 25 years. The approved maintenance organisation side of the company relies heavily on its director of maintenance Mike Charters, an industry veteran and licensed aircraft maintenance engineer with more than 30 years of corporate aviation experience that spans both fixed and rotary wing aircraft; he is not only the most senior person there but its 'centre of knowledge' and, since October 2021, a licensed Transport Canada Civil Aviation Delegate import agent.

"This allows Jetport to be able to offer more service to clients to expedite bringing both fixed wing and rotary aircraft into the country and onto our operating certificate. We have several potential aircraft that may be utilising my MD-M services in the coming months," says Charters.

The avid aviation enthusiast joined Jetport in 1997 and quickly assumed leadership of maintenance activities. While keeping safety always at the forefront, he excels at delivering work on time and on budget. He holds a Transport Canada aircraft maintenance engineers licence (AME) with multiple ratings in the M1 & M2 categories and has substantial experience on the Bombardier Global Series, Challenger 604/605, Gulfstream G100 as well as several helicopter types.

Jetport is able to maintain a wide variety of aircraft under the Transport Canada Approved AMO that it has operated under since 1998. The company currently offers line maintenance, inspections and heavy checks, including 48 month checks on Challenger 600 series aircraft. Additionally it performs limited avionics, but can carry out more complicated avionics work through associated avionics shops nearby when customers are in with their aircraft for inspections. The experienced crew of AMEs maintain the company’s fleet of aircraft as well as outside aircraft that come to Jetport for maintenance.

Jetport's full service FBO is just 40 minutes from Toronto. The facility offers over 30,000 sq ft of heated hangar space; optimal conditions for aircraft storage and maintenance, and both crew and passengers have access to a private boardroom, flight planning stations and lounges.