Sky's the limit for Ocean Sky

A Prestwick-based aircraft handling company has gone from zero to £1m turnover in its first year of trading. And later this month it will move to spacious new premises which will quadruple the size of its impressive facilities.

For Ocean Sky Handling, the sky really is the limit, says Director of Operations Eddie Allison, as it goes aggressively for growth in 2007.

The company started with three employees last April and now has ten.

It's part of Ocean Sky, the London-based private jet company providing an end-to-end service for leaders in business, politics and stage and screen. It's also one of the world's largest charter brokerages.

Ocean Sky's aviation facility at Prestwick offers 24/7 flight planning, weather/NOTAM briefings, re-fuelling, cleaning, de-icing and servicing. As well as catering and refreshments, it also provides aircraft maintenance plus passenger and crew touch-down requirements from customs and immigration to hotel accommodation and transfers.

"We believe we set a different standard in this extremely demanding market. Everything is meticulously planned," says Allison who for nine years was a senior manager with Prestwick Airport and Infratil Airports Europe. He was also the founder and General Manager of Execair, the UK's largest independent business aviation handling company.

He led the planning for Prestwick's handling of aircraft flying in for the G8 summit in 2005 and latterly took his department's turnover from £100,000 to £6m.

Last year he was headhunted by Ocean Sky's Chief Executive Kurosh Tehranchian to set up the new Prestwick handling facility. It's an opportunity the aviation heavyweight is relishing.

"This is a wonderful job. We expect the unexpected because no two days are the same. For instance, we handle celebrities flying discreetly into Scotland in private jets and recently we've welcomed Paul McCartney, Hugh Grant, Ian Botham and the Canadian Prime Minister.

"Or it might be medical emergency flights taking heart and lung transplants down to Papworth Hospital in Cambridge.

"Or aircraft flying the Great Circle route re-fuelling here on their way to all corners of Europe.

"A 747 needing a specialised Flying Loadmaster service to ensure its cargo is safely loaded here and unloaded in Israel.

"Two-seaters doing survey and photographic work which need to overnight here.

"To do all that well, and get it right first time, you've got to offer quality, flexibility and response. It requires the kind of experience and commitment that has helped make us a leader in our field in such a short time."

Ocean Sky is also a private jet company. "We provide individually-tailored luxury travel for elite travellers who can't be tied to a scheduled airline's timetable. Time is their most irreplaceable asset, so we offer them our premium fleet of aircraft, a fast service, and a choice of 7000 airports worldwide.

"We have everything from Piaggio P-180 Avanti and King Air B200 turboprops to Gulstreams, Falcons and Raytheons jets and the most opulent Airbus A319 or a Boeing Business Jet.

"We also own two Challenger 604 aircraft capable of flying 4000 miles non-stop. And for more local flights into Europe or North America we have a Learjet 60. Joining the fleet soon will be a Global Express which brings any destination around the globe within reach with just one fuel stop and allows destinations like LA and Tokyo to be flown direct ex UK.
"In addition, our extended fleet of 9000 aircraft on our database satisfies anything from four-seater helicopters to global transport needs.

"We're finding many individuals are increasingly using private jets for their vital business meetings or major holidays. They are no longer considering scheduled airlines as an option. Destinations range from the south of France, Rome and Sardinia to Moscow and the US."

He added: "We are ideally placed here at Prestwick which has the longest commercial runway in Scotland. With its ILS, radar and two runways, it can handle all aircraft from small private turboprops to transatlantic jets. And with the fifty years' experience we bring to the business, we are without doubt the most experienced professionals on the Prestwick airfield.

"We really love introducing Prestwick to the non-scheduled market, not only as a fuel-stopping option but as a viable alternative to Glasgow. Prestwick is just so much nicer!"

Eddie, with his thirty years in aviation, is assisted by Greg Fisher and Toni Burns who both have ten years' experience in this dynamic marketplace.

And Eddie has just hired Charlie Dunn who was a senior manager at Prestwick for almost ten years and was also on the G8 team. "Charlie knows aviation equipment backwards. With his knowledge, he'll be a great asset to the company."

And Eddie insisted: "Here at Prestwick we aim to set new industry standards. Ocean Sky is the only way to travel. Watch us go in 2007."

For further information, visit oceansky.com.