to acquire Bombardier CRJ900s and quickly
train crew. Green stated that Jota would
certainly consider such an arrangement. “If
we felt the business opportunity was right
and we could (a) service the contract to an
acceptable level (b) be pro table and (c)
de-risked. I have to look at risk. For example,
what could pull our business down?
Overstretching would do that.
“A lot of people underestimate the start-up
costs with any move like that. They are huge.
You have pilot training, engineer training,
spares costs – it’s a massive leap. It takes up
a lot of resources within the business even to
get to the start line,” he emphasised.
On the topic of eets, although not
new, Green said the carrier’s 146s/RJs
have 15 years life left but he expects that:
“commercially, on the passenger side,
it’s about ve-to-seven years.” These
passenger aircraft could then in theory be
converted for freight work. Sessions added:
“The cargo aeroplanes are fantastic –
they’ve not even used half their life. They’ve
never been passenger aeroplanes and on
average operated a couple of sectors ve
nights a week.”
Looking ahead, the company is already
assessing which other aircraft types might
have a role to play in both the passenger
and freight ACMI markets.
Although the aircraft are in ne shape,
ensuring that they all have crew is proving
a challenge. “I believe if you make it a nice
place to work, you will attract people. We
look after our staff and they work hard for us,”
Green stated. “We’ve got a good package
for our crew, which isn’t just salary based.
They get private healthcare, life insurance,
pensions and other bene ts. Because we
are niche and have varied work, I think we
do appeal to certain types of pilots who don’t
just want repetitive ying.
“Then there’s the attraction of the growth.
Everybody wants to be part of the growth and
the success of Jota. That’s probably the feel
that we have here – that everyone feels they
have a little bit of ownership of the company,
which is lovely,” Green remarked warmly.
The speed of response and excellent
customer service from its staff means that
Jota Aviation has excelled in the charter and
ACMI markets and looks set to continue this
success in the future.28 Aviation News incorporating Jets November 2018
Top right: Two Beech King Air 90s are in
storage – this cargo-con gured aircraft and a
passenger example. The carrier is considering
bringing the former back into service probably
via a third-party AOC. Bernie Baldwin
Above right: One of the strengths of the BAe
146/RJ family highlighted by Jota Aviation’s
CEO and accountable manager, Andy Green,
is that they can operate from London City
Airport. Jota Aviation
Right: This forward section of a BAe 146 arrived
at Southend in June for use by Jota Aviation
as a cockpit and cabin trainer. Bernie Baldwin
Below right: Jota Aviation’s BAe 146-200,
G-SMLA. Jota Aviation