Story ID: 134Oct17
Luxaviation Helicopters Acquires UK Operator Starspeed
By: Chris Kjelgaard
Caption: Fairoaks Airport-based Starspeed has 19 helicopters on its air operator certificate.
Word Count: 371
Luxaviation Helicopters acquired UK-based charter helicopter operator Starspeed last month in what Luxaviation Helicopters CEO Charlotte Pedersen describes as an ideal growth move.

Starspeed’s fleet of 19 managed helicopters, which it operates under its own AOC, plus four more not on its AOC but available to Starspeed for corporate and VIP charter work, doubles Luxaviation Helicopters’ roster of managed rotorcraft. Luxaviation Helicopters manages and operates 19 helicopters for private owners, and most of them are available to it for charter flying. Starspeed will remain separately managed, staffed and branded under its new owner, but together the two companies represent “the world’s largest VIP helicopter operator,” according to Pedersen.

 

Starspeed brings Luxaviation Helicopters other attributes that will help both entities expand business as part of parent Luxaviation Group, according to Pedersen. One is Starspeed’s helicopter pilot-training business, which she said complements Luxaviation Group’sfixed-wing business aircraft management and training activities. (Luxaviation Group, which manages 262 aircraft and operates 25 FBOs and 15 maintenance facilities, counts itself as the world’s second-largest operator of business aircraft.) Starspeed’s training activities will allow Luxaviation Group to offer private customers who own both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft high-quality pilot training for both, she said.

Additionally, the fact that Starspeed and Luxaviation Helicopters operate worldwide might win them future VIP business from the group’s fixed-wing customers, said Pedersen: “There is a clear connection between large business jets and large helicopters. [VIPs] want to go fast and conveniently.”

Another attribute is that Starspeed, which owns two helicopter simulators, not only offers training for operating to ships and offshore oil platforms but also is the only private helicopter operator specifically approved by EASA to fly charters to ships. This could entice business from companies that manage super-yachts for private customers, Pedersen thinks.

Starspeed also adds to Luxaviation Helicopters’ growing charter presence in large helicopters, as a 19-seat Sikorsky S-92 is available to it. Luxaviation Helicopters itself has Leonardo AW139s, AW119s, an A109 and a Bell 430 available for charters, while both companies offer EC155s. Regarding helicopter size, “This brings us more in the region I’m targeting,” said Pedersen.
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