Many flight and cabin crew were away working on the day flying on-board Cello’s two aircraft - one of them flying a European music tour with one of the UK’s most iconic singing stars and the other operating services in support of a major scheduled airline.

The cake - made in the shape of one of Cello’s aircraft - was the high spot on the menu as the Birmingham based business marked a remarkable fourth birthday.

Four years ago Raj Gill, who founded the Gill Group that includes Cello Aviation, decided to diversify in another direction taking his passion for aviation a step further by starting Cello Aviation as a specialist VIP charter carrier. Cello, which also undertakes work for scheduled operators, has gone from strength to strength in that time and now has two aircraft in its fleet with plans to add more in the future.

“The Gill Group do a lot of work on airfields all over the world and so there is a synergy with the airline,” said Raj. “Many people thought I was taking a huge risk as our core services had been in civil engineering and construction but my passion was in aviation and I felt there was a niche in the market to start an airline that would operate VIP charter services and so Cello Aviation was launched in July 2010. Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined how successful we would be,” he added.

(From left): Cabin crew manager Dean Hull, Nim Baines and catering co-ordinator Donna Grey.

During its four years in operation Cello Aviation has flown countless celebrities and VIP passengers from all over the UK and beyond. The company has carried most of the Premier League football teams, international football and rugby teams, top named celebrities as well as Royalty including the Queen who travelled on Cello to Ireland when she made her state visit in May 2011.

“We have achieved so much and there have been many high spots but flying the Queen really established our credentials,” added Raj.

Nim Baines, Chief Executive of Cello Aviation, said that the carrier’s success would have been very special in any circumstances but was remarkable given the fact that it had been launched at the low point of the worst economic downturn in a century.

“The secret of our success is down to having a great team of people working closely with our clients at every step, providing a professional service that gives the client the assurance that they will be flying with an operator who can meet their personal needs as well as being competitive on price,” added Nim.