Portuguese operator Valair continues to find success with its CJ3, after performing more than 650 flight hours with it in 2013. Sales manager Nuno Gomes da Silva is pleased with the demand for the aircraft: “It is a 2008 model which mainly operates in the south of Europe: Portugal, Spain, and in Morocco. Demand is so high that we are currently looking for another one.”

The company has a lot of card clients, and offers a package with 25, 50 or 75 hours. Da Silva says the clients only pay for the hours they fly: “If the client flies from Lisbon to Paris where the standard flight time is two hours 25 minutes, if the winds are good we can perform it in two hours 10, and we will then credit these minutes to the client.

“On the other side, if it is more than two hours 30 minutes, that is our problem, and clients won't be charged in this situation.”

Valair also has a Phenom 100 which it uses for short duration air taxi flights in central Europe, primarily around Geneva. The central European market is a 'fantastic' one according to da Silva, and the Phenom does more flights than the CJ3, although these are short flights and the latter therefore completes more hours. The demand for a light or very light jet remains high, and da Silva foresees fleet expansion in light of this: “At the moment we don't have the capability to respond to all the demands that we receive.

“We could very easily do 40 to 60 per cent more than we are currently flying. We are talking to Cessna to get another CJ3 and we are also in talks with Embraer for another Phenom. These are the aircraft we want, very quickly, to add to our fleet in the next month.”

He feels that despite the central location of a large part of Valair's operation, being headquartered in Portugal is far from straightforward: “We are on the edge of Europe which is tricky as most things tend to happen in the centre. “But Avinode is a fantastic tool, and through this system along with our local card members, we are able to perform many hours. It gives us the possibility to make and perform a lot of flights that we wouldn't be able to do if we were only operating in Lisbon.”

The operator's managed Global Express performs routes between Paris and central Africa, while its Falcon 900 also keeps African contracts. Da Silva believes this market will play a pivotal role for Valair in the future, considering its emergence: “I would say that central Africa is incredible. They are flying more and more and the market there is constantly growing.

“We have been running legs there for around four years and now have local partnerships. It is amazing the way the market has grown there, especially in Nigeria and Gabon.”