VistaJet bids farewell to its last Learjet

VistaJet celebrated a special milestone as the last remaining Learjet aircraft in its fleet left Northolt for its new home in North America.

The company's fleet now exclusively comprises large-cabin Challenger and ultra long-range Global jets.

Since 2004, a total of 20 Learjet aircraft sported the silver metallic grey and single red stripe VistaJet livery. Collectively, they travelled around the world a total 500 times - a result of 18,262 flights and 42,962 hours clocked. Pilots and cabin crew welcomed 28,685 passengers aboard, and after 11 years the last remaining VistaJet Learjet aircraft received a bon voyage visit from Founder and Chairman, Thomas Flohr.

VistaJet Founder and Chairman, Thomas Flohr.

Excitement for the future and fond recollections of how it all began highlighted the event. The Learjet 60 was Mr Flohr's first aircraft, purchased for personal use in December 2003. Since then this model served as a staple in a growing fleet of over 45 Bombardier business aircraft.

"Today is a very emotional day. The Learjet 60 was my first aircraft and the catalyst for the company we know as VistaJet today," said Mr Flohr. "Learjet aircraft are fast and agile, pilots love to fly them and the cabin volume is generous, so passengers are always comfortable."

The rise in demand for long-range flights, and premium large cabin aircraft prompted VistaJet to realign its business strategy to best meet passenger needs and in June 2013 the company announced its intention to offer an all Challenger and Global fleet when it placed an order with Bombardier for 20 Challenger 350 aircraft.

"We saw an opportunity to expand VistaJet while further differentiating ourselves from our competitors and made the strategic decision to focus our business on long-range point-to-point flights," said Mr Flohr. "It all began when we launched Think Global in 2012. We are now entering the next phase of this strategy with our all Global and Challenger fleet."

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 19th March 2015 | Issue #312
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