Story ID: 
PremiAir Moves into London Biggin Hill Digs
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: PremiAir is expanding its fixed-wing activities, by establishing a new charter and management operation at London Biggin Hill Airport, together with an add
Word Count: 218
PremiAir is expanding its fixed-wing activities, by establishing a new charter and management operation at London Biggin Hill Airport, together with an additional maintenance facility. Last week, its sister company–von Essen Aviation–purchased an undisclosed number of Bombardier Learjet 45s while PremiAir took over the lease on a hangar, workshop and office complex from Gold Group International and acquired specialist workshop equipment, tooling and aircraft spares previously owned by Air Partner Private Jets. It plans to add more Learjet 45s and larger jets to its fleet under management contracts later next month. Its new Biggin Hill operation includes an established EASA-approved Learjet maintenance facility. PremiAir–which is also active in executive helicopter charter and management, fixed- and rotary-wing maintenance, aircraft sales and police air support–will now have a total of six bases in the UK, including Blackbushe, Oxford, Farnborough and Denham Airports, as well as the London Heliport. The hangar leased at Biggin Hill was formerly part of charter brokering group Air Partner, which had bought Gold Air in 2006 to build its own charter and management business. In this transaction Gold Group retained ownership of the aircraft and hangar and so when Air Partner opted to close down this part of its business earlier this year, the aircraft and building lease were returned to Gold Group.