Cello Aviation to add a second aircraft to their Birmingham Airport based VIP fleet

Cello Aviation is undertaking a major expansion to its fleet. The VIP Charter carrier

based at Birmingham Airport will add another two new aircraft in the coming months

Cello who operate all over Europe have bucked the economic trend by seeing its bookings
double in 2012. The airline serves major clients including international names from the
worlds of sport, music, government and business. Its expansion will enable the airline
to extend its growth in the VIP charter sector and also serve other airlines with extra
capacity that will be hired in on an "as needed" basis

G-LENM is currently registered G-CGYR and was previously as BHX regular
when registered OO-DJL with Brussels Airlines

Cello Aviation currently operates a luxury BAe 146-200 G-RAJJ in a 46 seat configuration

with all leather seats and the second aircraft will be Avro RJ 85 in a standard passenger

configuration that will be registered G-LENM. The two new aircraft that will be managed

by Cello on behalf of its partners will be crewed by Cello pilots and cabin crew. Cello will

also provide the on-board catering

Nim Baines, Chief Executive of Cello Aviation, said: "We have seen a take off in the

demand for our services and this expansion in the face of such a challenging economic

climate is testimony to the hard work of our staff and suppliers"

Cello Aviation is part of The Gill Group - for more information visit

www.flycello.com

 

Thursday 21 February 2013

Wednesday 20 February 2013 - RAF Tristar C2 ZE704 visits the Elmdon apron on a medevac flight

RAF Tristar C2 ZE704 was an afternoon visitor to the Elmdon apron operating
a operating a medevac flight.... Photo: Mike Hollick

.... RAF BAe 125 CC3 ZD703 had earlier visited on a VIP flight

Learjet 45 N708SP made a brief afternoon visit to the Elmdon apron

Turkish Boeing 737-8F2 TC-JHP operated their flight from Istanbul - its first visit to BHX

Air Malta to increase their Birmingham to Malta service to twice weekly for summer 2013

Air Malta are to increase their Birmingham service to twice weekly for the summer

2013 season and move the Tuesday service to an enthusiast photo friendly time!

These flights operate as a quasi scheduled service - while many of the seats are

taken by Tour Operators they are also bookable direct via the Air Malta www site

Air Malta have introduced a new colour scheme in the last year and also have

Airbus A320 9H-AEO in the "Valletta" scheme - photo here - so I am sure the

revised timings of the Tuesday service will be welcomed by the photographers!

Air Malta schedule at Birmingham from Friday 3 May to 25 October 2013

TUESDAY

1745/1835 KM4236/4237 320 from/to Malta
- operates weekly on Tuesday's - Air Malta

FRIDAY

2245/2335 KM4536/4237 320 from/to Malta
- operates weekly on Friday's - Air Malta

Schedule/timings subject to change!!

www.airmalta.com

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Tuesday 19 February 2013 - Netjets Hawker 800XPi CS-DRZ diverts in from East Midlands

Netjets Hawker 800XPi CS-DRZ was a morning visitor to the Elmdon apron when it diverted in
due to poor visibility at East Midlands to where it later positioned out to Photo: Mike Hollick

It was a busy day for priority freight charters with Arcus Air Dornier 228-212 D-CUTT....

.... and Bin Air Metro III D-CNAF among the visitors

SAS MD 82 LN-ROP operated their morning service to Copenhagen

 

Lufthansa Airbus A321-131 D-AIRF operated their lunchtime flight from Frankfurt

Turkish Airbus A320-232 TC-JPO was an afternoon arrival operating their flight from Istanbul

Hangar Watch - Thursday 14 February 2013

A look at the site of the new Monarch Aircraft Engineering Hangar a month after
contractors moved on site - initially most of the work as been on the foundations....
- to see this image "full size" just click on it

.... but a large number of lorry loads of the frame/structure have now arrived
on site in preparation for the start of work on the actual hangar

More lorry loads of the frame/structure are parked adjacent to the Elmdon Building....

.... seen in the foreground with the site of the new Hangar - which will be constructed
to the north of the Eurojet Hangar - also in the view

 Thursday 14 February 2013

Monday 18 February 2013 - RAF BAe 146-200QC ZE707 makes an ILS approach to Runway 15

RAF BAe 146-200QC ZE707 was an afternoon visitor when it made an ILS approach

and go around to Runway 15 - it had previously visited BHX when it was OO-TAY

with TNT Airways and F-GOMA with Axis Airways

Air France Airbus A320-211 F-GFKJ operated their morning service to Paris CDG

- the aircraft is in their "retro" colour scheme

Jet2 Boeing 737-377QC G-CELY operated a charter flight from Odense, Denmark,

before positioning out to Edinburgh

KLM cityhopper Embraer 190-100LR PH-EZI operated their lunchtime service to Amsterdam

- this daily except Saturday service which had been operated by a Fokker 70 will now be

operated by an Embraer 190 until the end of the winter schedules 

Hangar Watch - Tuesday 12 February 2013

The frame/structure of the new Monarch Aircraft Engineering Hangar has now started
to arrive on site with these sections being stored adjacent to the Elmdon Building

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Saturday 16 February 2013 - Swiss upgrade all three of their flights to Zurich for start of "Half Term"

Swiss used Airbus's on all three of their flights from Zurich as they upgraded their

services for the start of the "Half Term" holiday week - Airbus A320-214 HB-JLQ

operated the morning service - its first visit to BHX - with ....

Airbus A321-212 HB-IOM operating the lunchtime service and Airbus A320-214

HB-JLS later visiting on the evening flight - another first visit to BHX

Titan Boeing 737-33AQC G-POWC positioned in to operate an additional IT flight to Chambery

Austrian Airbus A320-214 OE-LBT operated their weekly IT flight to Innsbruck

Aer Lingus Regional/Aer Arann ATR 42-300 EI-CBK operated their flight from Shannon

Global Express OE-IGS which had arrived on Wednesday was a morning departure to the Caribbean

January 2013 passenger figures at Birmingham‏

Birmingham Airport handled 496,817 passengers during January 2013
- a decrease of 1.0% on the previous year

The month was not helped by the poor weather and the snow which closed the airport
on a number of occasions and the continuing challenging economic conditions

As a result of the later and in these days of "flexible schedules" more and more airlines and
Tour Operators now reduce their flights at off peak times which only makes things worse

February - and in particular the "Half Term" holiday - has started strongly with many
scheduled service upgrades as well as some extra IT/charter flights being added and

the prospects for the year ahead remain encouraging

During January significant growth was achieved on scheduled flights to destinations such

as - Sharm el Sheikh 151.0%, Hamburg 107.0%, Rzeszow 64.6%, Grenoble 55.8%,

Istanbul 40.8% and Bydgoszcz 24.3%

Charter traffic which experience growth included -
Tunisia 24.6%, Austria 19.4% and Bulgaria 17.9%

Scheduled traffic accounted for 85.7% of the total passenger traffic in January

whilst charter passengers made up the remaining 14.3%

Monday 18 February 2013

Birmingham Airport appoints new Aviation Strategy and Development Manager

Tom Screen (left) is welcomed to Birmingham Airport by Aviation Development Director William Pearson

Birmingham Airport has appointed Tom Screen as its new Aviation Strategy
and Development Manager to help to grow the Airport’s airline and route network

He joins Birmingham Airport from Thomson Airways where he has held the
position of Aviation Planning Manager since August 2008 and will manage a
team of two, reporting to the Aviation Development Director

His main responsibilities include overseeing the generation of information to

the business for budgeting and forecasting purposes, and identifying market

opportunities as the Airport continues to develop and attract new carriers

Commenting on Tom’s arrival, William Pearson, Birmingham Airport’s Aviation

Development Director, said, "I’m confident that Tom will be a great addition

to the team and to the business as we strive to deliver growth at the Airport

and develop our route network"

In previous roles Tom has also worked for Airport Coordination Ltd and First

Choice Airways (Air 2000). Originally from Oxford, Tom spent his formative
years in Cheshire before moving to St Albans in 2008. He’s a musician, keen
runner and cricketer in his spare time

Commenting on his appointment, Tom added, "I’m delighted to be given this new

role at Birmingham Airport. The next few years will be exciting times for the

company with the runway extension and the development of a high speed rail link

to London. Birmingham is in a great position to forge ahead as a viable alternative

airport for carriers looking to expand services into the UK and I look forward to

playing my part in that"

 

Monday 18 February 2013

Sunday 17 February 2013 - Air Transat Airbus A330-243 C-GTSN diverts in from Gatwick

Air Transat Airbus A330-243 C-GTSN made a brief morning visit when it arrived

from Calgary, diverting in due to landing delays at Gatwick....

.... after refuelling it continued its journey - it wears their new style colour scheme

KLM cityhopper Fokker 70 PH-KZG diverted in due to poor visibility at Norwich

Gulfstream G150 OE-GAS was a morning visitor to the Elmdon apron

Hangar Watch - Friday 4 January 2013

With work on the new Monarch Aircraft Engineering Hangar starting shortly contractors
have moved on site to secure the construction site from the rest of the active airfield

The new hangar will be constructed to the north of the Eurojet hangar that was completed in 2012

Friday 4 January 2013

Friday 15 February 2013 - Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-8F2 TC-JHO makes its first visit to BHX

Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-8F2 TC-JHO operated their flight to Istanbul - its first visit to BHX

Air France Airbus A321-211 F-GTAL operated both their morning - its first visit to BHX -

and lunchtime flight from/to Paris CDG

Thomas Cook Airbus A320-214 G-DHRG positioned in from Belfast to operate

an additional IT flight to Tenerife of the "Half Term" holiday week

Piaggio P-180 Avanti II HB-LTZ made a morning visit to the Elmdon apron while....

Eurojet Citation Excel G-CBRG was a lunchtime departure 

Thursday 14 February 2013 - bmi regional Embraer 145 G-RJXH operates a charter flight from Munich

bmi regional Embraer 145EP G-RJXH was a morning arrival on the Elmdon apron operating

a return charter flight from Munich before positioning out to Manchester Photo: Mike Hollick

Emirates Boeing 777-31HER A6-ENF operated their lunchtime flight from Dubai - its first visit to BHX

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS EI-ENS wears additional "Bydgoszcz Torun | Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region" titles

Cirrus SR-22 G-OGGM was an afternoon visitor to the Elmdon apron - also visiting were....

Pan Europeenne Air Service Phenom 300 F-HIPE which made a brief evening visit....

Gulfstream G150 OE-GAS which was an early morning arrival parking up to night stop....

Flight Calibration Services Navajo Chieftain G-FCSL which had been calibrating the new Radar....

.... and their Diamond DA-42 Twin Star G-DGPS both night stopped while....

Sky Taxi Saab 340 SP-MRB which had arrived from Wroclaw and....

Air Taxi Europe Cessna 406 Caravan II D-ICCC both night stopped Photos: Mike Hollick

Agusta A-109C G-HBEK was an afternoon visitor