New UK entry jet company above™, which is focused on domestic and European on-demand executive charter flights, has announced that it has registered its first Embraer Phenom 100.
Marking a key milestone, the former Arcus Air aircraft is now G-FABV for Fly Above. However, founding CEO Vince Essex highlights that regulatory matters requiring the UK CAA’s attention relating to aircraft survey work have yet to conclude.
The aircraft is currently undergoing engineering work and inspection at Inflite Engineering at London Stansted Airport as part of the UK CAA’s change programme and Essex says that SaxonAir at Norwich has been engaged to assist on the CAMO side.
“We are a couple of months behind but do hope for service entry in early May, ahead of the peak summer period. Commercially, we’ve been actively strengthening our foundations for launch, finalising competitive city-pair pricing strategy to ensure a strong market entry.”
XLR Executive Jet Centres in Birmingham have been chosen as above™’s home, which is equidistant from London and Manchester Airports. The location is ideal for executive charter requests and the company’s airline support work, capable of ferrying AOG parts, crew and medical-related flights. Its Phenom 100 has four club seats and is a lean jet alternative to scheduled services.
“XLR Birmingham is delighted to soon have a Phenom 100 light business jet available for charter directly from our base,” commented Chris Beer, Director, XLR Executive Jet Centres.
“With a flying capability of 1 to 2.5 hours, it’s an ideal aircraft for both business and leisure trips across the UK and near-Europe. We very much look forward to supporting above™ as they launch their new operation here at Birmingham.”
above™ has also completed its Avinode integration ahead of commercial launch and is building relationships with charter brokers and operator peers. Vince Essex will be attending The Air Charter Association Spring lunch and the British Business and General Aviation Association’s annual conference next week. At the latter, he is speaking on a media panel on the “Evolution of charter” hosted by Hunt & Palmer.
