Any one know of a AS350 to charter near London ?

[starshiptrooper]

Hi All,

Anyone know of a AS350 around the London area, looking to charter one in June for a corperate day to and from Battersea to Windsor.

Thks

[AlanM]

Does it have to be a Squirrell???

Try Starspeed...... [url[www.starspeed.co.uk[/url]

(and everyone else can click on the "pilots" link....!!! :))

[tomotomp]

Try PremiAir

or HeliAir both at Denham, or Cabair:ok:

[Helinut]

Not 100% sure, but I think that Starspeed may not operate the single Squirrel.
Possibles are Cabair, Elite and maybe London Heles
Many of the "leading" London outfits don't charter singles much these days.
Why do you specifically want an AS350? For charter it would need floats for Battersea.

If you mean you want to hire an AS350 for self-fly, that is another question.

[starshiptrooper]

First of all thanks for help/suggestions to anyone answering this thread. Initially I was looking at AS350 because I was going to fly it, but a little more research by me (which I should prob done before) has highlighted the fact that I need to be current on flying into battersea (though did 3 yrs ago) so the AS355 looks more likely (me not flying...already spoke to a few operators). I was really looking for the most economic way in getting 15 clients of a bank from Battersea to the Guards Polo club and also (on another occasion) from Battersea to the Goodwood festival.

Thanks so far one and all !

[finals09]

From my experience for charters from battersea with Twin Squirrels, Premiair hard to beat with a Twin Squirrel, although Atlas also very competitive.

Larger helicopters are not always the answer, not that you would find one aircraft for 15 unless you charter a S61 from Ireland which will cost a lot !

As a very rough estimate need to allow at least £400 per head, more if at the weekend due to increased fees at Battersea. This is for a Twin Squirrel.

Would be cheaper if using single squirrels or Longrangers, but not a great deal. Speak to London Helicopter Centre if you need a single squirrel, very helpful.

May find it hard to land 3 aircraft at Guards.

Hope this helps, let me know if you need any more info

Rgds

F09

[Flingingwings]

Have you considered speaking to Air Harrods? S76 and A109 could take your group I'd have thought

[starshiptrooper]

Thankyou for your comments. You say £400 a head but I came out at less than £200. My thinking was twin squirrel at £1050 +vat for 1:30 ( 3 return trips from Battersea to Guards) Approx £700-£1000 landing fees gives a total around the £2500-£2800 mark, about £175 per person.

Any thoughts much appreciated ?

[Helinut]

Why don't you just get some quotes? There are professionals who spend all their working lives estmating the costs of a charter :) The BHAB Handbook as all the main operators in it.

I suggest you start with those outfits that will need to fly least to do the job (i.e. close to Battersea)

If you have a fixed date or dates, don't forget to point this out, as prices vary depending upon the demand.

[VeeAny]

If you really want a 350 then you could try Andy Crawford at Heliaviation at Blackbushe.

[nigelh]

If you are a pilot and were happy to be the operator then you could lease an AS350 for around £650 per hour and pay a pilot, then it would be a private flight and not require floats. I would go to Leon at Helicopter Services at High Wycombe, they are very professional and very fair.

[MBJ]

I really recommend you get quotes from a broker who will trawl the market for you and get it done by a professional operator. IMHO something in the last post sniffs of illegal Commercial Air Transport to me. The pax are clients not employees and it could therefore be assumed that there was a "valuable consideration" involved even if you don't get paid in used fivers.

LHC at Redhill have a B2 for charter. I wish there were more around.

[ppheli]

Guards Polo Club strikes me as being very close to the Heathrow approach/departure path. Could operations in/out of there be cancelled at short notice if the wind is in the "wrong" direction? That could really UNimpress your clients....

[Oogle]

That will teach you for asking pilots a question - 100 different answers!!!:ugh:

I have just picked myself up off the floor after you mentioned 700 - 1000 quid for landing fees!! :mad:

[AlanM]

ppheli

We cannot normally refuse you entry to any LS in the LCTR.

However, if a LS does affect LHR ops, and departures or arrivals are stopped to get you in/out, then you can expect the same delay as the jets.

i.e. If aircraft are holding at BNN for 20 minutes, then so will you. This makes it fair.

Also, CAP493 (the Manual of Air Trafic Services) clearly states that SVFR flights are not to hinder IFR flights.

[Jarvy]

It also appears to me that someone is suggesting that you do illegal public transport.
If your not flying then why not get some quotes on using a Longranger, plenty about.

[starshiptrooper]

Dear Rotorheads,

Please explain to me what is wrong with this scenario.

I charter a AS355 acting as the operator (I will have type and IR by then) and fly the pax to and from wherever they want to go, Goodwood/Guards. It that illegal ? I will have my own limited company which I will bill the flight/ landing etc to the company taking the clients out.

Would appreciate a definition of illegal public transport, just to be on the safe side.

On the broker side of things why would I want to that ? Surely its lining the brokers pockets for something I can quite easily do.....and learn and an enourmous amount in the process.

Thanks for all your comments so far
:):):):D:D:D

[Jarvy]

Let me be the first, whose AOC then?

[Bravo73]

More to the point, do you even know what the acronym 'AOC' stands for?

[nigelh]

For a start it would not be a charter of the 355 it would be a lease. This is possible but you need to know the rules. On this site you will be swamped by jobsworths saying you cannot do anything !! Most of the flying in this country is now done as private including as far as i am aware, even all of netjets, flexjet etc If they were all just mates of yours it would certainly be legal to lease and maybe fly it yourself , if you are taking business clients there could be an argument that there is a benefit, although i have never heard of anyone being taken to court on it. We have covered this before and hundreds of companies are out there still doing lease work in helicopters, planes and jets and it is ridiculous to suggest that they care less about safety.

[Jarvy]

Someone is very touchy, all I said was whose AOC?
Or maybe I spent all that money on a CPL for no reason when I could have done it all on a PPL.
Lets keep to the subject and try to find the best legal and cheapest solution.

[nigelh]

It would have to be a CPL in my view because the pilot is either paid ...or he gets free hours flying which is also a reward. I would not advocate doing any of this with PPL. I, also would like to think that you have learnt a few things getting your CPL to make you a safer pilot !

[starshiptrooper]

Thanks for being a smartarse Bravo, do I know what an AOC is ......yeah thanks, not needed in this thread.

I'm actaully here to to learn, being ex services and not used to the 'civvy' way of flying and to get some useful comments/suggestions towards helping me and many others who may be thinking of doing or not doing a similar thing.

Thanks so far to all those who have helped

[VeeAny]

Starship

Sounds to me like you would be covered by the 'motor mileage exception' see
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/122/summary_of_public_transport.pdf

Nigelh is quite correct in that an awful lot of flying is now being done privately, with CPL holder being paid to fly leased aircraft.

There will be a lot of people who say this is AOC work, I don't think it is and the suggestion earlier about lease an aircraft and fly it yourself whilst correct, I can't see the need to be a pilot to be 'the operator' most corporate bodies are not pilots but they do employ them.

Flying Lawyer is your man for this one once again.

V.

[Bravo73]

I would suggest then, SST, that you start doing a lot of searching, both on here and in the real world. Some of your questions are betraying a worrying level of ignorance.

As you've already discovered with the VAT thread, there are some very long and detailed discussions on Rotorheads relating to these various issues. There was one not too long ago which covered matters such as the requirements for an AOC, payments in kind, CPLs and the like. Remember, the search function is your friend.

[PUP]

SST,

If, as your various recent posts indicate, you are seriously interested in getting into the charter/corporate world then I think B73 is quite right.
Demonstrating such ignorance of the issues is not the best way of introducing yourself to the UK commercial fraternity. If you do get into this business, you may find it rather difficult to cast off the mantle of "that bloke that........". It certainly won't be difficult for the CAA to come and find you on the day, should they chose to do so!
Starshiptrooper or space cadet? I wish you the former.
P.S Try reading the ANO!

[Xavier Dosh]

SST,

I hope that you have solved the problem or at least been given a quote that is within budget.

If you do specifically want an AS350 – I would suggest London Helicopter Centres at Redhill. They operate one/two AS350s. 01737 823 514

If you don’t need an AS350 – there are several alternatives and I think that we may need to have a look at Guards, because it may be a Twin only site.

I would suggest that if you lease a Twin Squirrel – and charge 15 people to shuttle them between Battersea and Guards Polo Club, it would be classed as Public Transport and therefore you would need an AOC.

In no particular order, I would suggest the following M25 / London based operators:-

Aeromega AS355 / A109 – 01708 688 361

London Helicopters AS350 / AS355 – 01737 823 514

CabAir AS355 – 0208 953 4411

PremiAir – AS355 etc etc etc 01895 830 900

Starspeed have an AS355N and some larger machines – I would recommend them but they may not be quite what you’re after? (01252 890 888)

If you would like to PM me – feel free but I would suggest you seek assistance from one of the above. If you’re fairly new to this business you would benefit from having an AOC company managing the whole project on your behalf. If you do have a 355 rating and an I/R by then – it maybe that you could fly on of the aircraft!

Best of luck – I hope it books!

XD

[AlanM]

SST
XD hits the nail on the head....
As someone who speaks to all of the operators above, I would endorse his recommendations from an impartial ATC point of view.

I know pilots from all of the above, and they are certainly the guys with the experience to operate at a site near to LHR..... and to virtually guarantee delivery of pax.

Good luck either way - and PM me the date and we will see what we can do from an ATC side of things!!:)

P.S. ANY empty seats always welcome:):):ok:

[starshiptrooper]

Thanks once again for your comments, its all becoming alot clearer now. My 'worrying level of ignorance' is starting to improve.

I'm not sure really how to respond to Bravo73 and PUP's posts :confused: !

I have learnt an aweful lot from this site and and I thank all those with the time (and patience) that have answered my questions and pointed me in the right direction


Thanks once again

[VeeAny]

Having just reread this from the top, I'll correct myself it does sound like AOC work, for the reasons MBJ points out.

I'd missed the the bit about '15 of a banks clients'.

I Must try harder in future.

V.

[Heliport]

A little more courtesy to someone asking for advice wouldn't go amiss.

The rules about Public Transport & Aerial Work are notoriously confusing and confuse many people - including some people who claim to understand them.



Heliport