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The first concern was to calculate the date to charter the aircraft and make the changeover, since the estimated tow time of the rig to Recife was 5 weeks, subject to weather and other operational conditions.

The rig being towed by a powerful tug set off from the UK, South West Coast in early December 2009. Already delayed a few days by bad weather the massive tow rope snapped and the rig was cast adrift in the Bay of Biscay. The tug had to return to the UK for a replacement tow rope. After making steady progress in the Atlantic against strong South Westerly winds, the tug ran low on fuel and again the Rig was cast adrift. The tug then refuelled in the Canary Islands before returning to the tow. The rig finally arrived off the coast of Recife in mid January 2010, nearly 6 weeks after leaving the UK.

We were fortunate to be working very closely with a specialist charter airline, operating a long range Boeing 767 wide bodied airliner able to fly directly between Edinburgh and Recife. In the weeks and days leading up to the charter it was necessary to almost daily amend and reschedule the actual date of the flights but both ourselves and the aircraft operator were able to offer this flexibility.

In the early morning of the rigs arrival we landed the new crew at Recife, and 14 hours later we flew the first crew back to Edinburgh on the same charter aircraft.

It had taken the Rig crew nearly 6 weeks to get to Recife and only 10 hours to return home again. The Rig with its 60 strong fresh crew continued on to the Falklands - a further 4 weeks tow time.    

We were faced with the issue of mobs of fans waiting for our passengers to arrive at airports. The only option for us therefore was to pre-position members of our team at what we felt, from experience, would be the most difficult airports. The purpose of this was to work closely with the handling agents, police and airport security, to ensure that General Aviation Terminal areas were clear of fans and that large numbers of airport workers did not appear just as the flight arrived!

Sometimes, due to our persistence we were also able to organise permission for cars to drive directly out to the aircraft at airports where this has never been allowed before, enabling our passengers to sneak out of the airport and off to their hotel without incident.

Companies exporting British talent and products - from electric car chargers to airport security technology, classic British foods to flame retardant fabrics – discussed their successes and concerns with the Prime Minister. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson and Minister for Trade, Investment and Business, Lord Davies also took questions on what Government is doing to help UK exporters during the downturn.

 

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "I want to thank you for everything you are doing for the British economy, for British exports, and for British confidence. All of you here have successful businesses. All of you have made important innovations in the way you do business. Many of you have received Queen’s Awards for what you have done, and I congratulate you. Many of you are helping this country through one of the most difficult financial periods and doing so by increasing your growth rates and making sure that the economy can remain strong for the future."

At the entry level customers are only chartering if essential to do so. At the higher end activities have slowed to a lesser extent but means more Operators and brokers are chasing less business. The strongest market remains the Middle East but even here supply is exceeding demand.

In all matters timing is vitally important and in early 2009 it will be fascinating to observe the changes that will occur in new aircraft orders. During the second and third quarters of 2008 large numbers of executive aircraft were ordered or optioned. Unfortunately its most likely that many of these large orders will turn into options only.

Particularly at this time the choice between Operators purchasing an aircraft or just operating a unit on behalf of an Owner must be an intriguing one, and now essential to cost effectively.

Most of the Arabian Gulf Business Aircraft Operators were represented, either on the static aircraft display or in the main halls. Many European based aircraft operators were also present actively seeking new business.

The number of Executive business jets available for charter from the Gulf grows weekly and includes BBJs, Embraer Legacys Challenger 604s and Lear jets. We have for some time arranged private jet aircraft charter within the region and are confident in growing our business here.

Senor Pavarotti was one of our longest standing clients, and we had provided aircraft for all his tours since Premier started. So we were pleased and honoured to be asked by the concert organizers to arrange charters to fly in many of the people involved in this great event. We chartered a B757 airliner for some of the guests and artistes, the production team and TV crew from London to Aqaba airport, Jordan. We also utilised business jet operators from 5 different countries to fly in many of the other artistes performing at the concert and to coordinate their travel between London, Moscow, Mumbai, Vienna, Barcelona & Madrid to Jordan.

 

Our Managing Director, Adrian Whitmarsh, was on hand in Jordan to coordinate and supervise all flight operations at Aqaba airport and liaise with ground transport, concert production staff & management. Flight operations continued around the clock over the 4 days, with artistes incorporating the visit into their busy tour commitments spanning from Spain in the west to India in the east. Adrian worked closely with Jordanian tour logistics company Discovery to coordinate the transfers of the guests, artistes and production teams to and from the special flights. VIP's attending the concert included members of the Jordanian Royal family, government delegations from other Middle Eastern states and, of course, Pavarotti's home country of Italy.

The artistes were among many others who made the long trek through the mountains to the site of the ancient Treasury at Petra to honour Pavarotti. Other famous names who took part in the three-day commemoration were Sting, soprano Cynthia Lawrence, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and 13 year old Jordanian violinist, Aleem Kandour.

 

Pavarotti had previously expressed a desire to give a concert himself at the UNESCO World Heritage site and discussed the possibility with members of the Jordanian Royal Family. In common with Princess Haya of Jordan, Pavarotti was involved in raising funds for UN children's charities and proceeds from this concert, entitled Salute Petra, were for the continued benefit of these charities.

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Over 200 key players from the Aviation Charter Industry attended including Private Jet Aircraft Operators and Brokers, both passenger and cargo. The guest speaker was the celebrated explorer and climber Sir Ranulph Fiennes who kept the room spellbound with his stories of intrepid hazardous journeys across the two poles.

His visit was sponsored by Tyrolean Jet Services, a high quality Operator of corporate jet aircraft. After lunch all delegates repaired to a local Public Inn where business networking and a few ales were consumed.