Germany’s DC Aviation, in a bid to become Europe’s largest operator of private jets, last month took delivery of a new Gulfstream G450, bringing its fleet to 31 business jets, ranging from the Learjet to the Airbus A319 ACJ. Delivery of the G450 follows the Stuttgart-based company’s May announcement that three Airbus A319 ACJs will join the fleet within 12 months. A total of 12 new aircraft will be added to the fleet this year. Expansion of the fleet by the former DaimlerChrysler spin-off is not restricted to the Airbus ACJs and Gulfstreams and more aircraft are already planned for next year.

“We charter Gulfstreams to business and private customers alike, and it is for this reason that we will be continuing to expand this fleet type,” said DC Aviation managing director Stefan Buschle.  In addition to taking delivery of another Gulfstream G550 and the aforementioned three ACJs, the company is adding one Challenger 850, its seventh Legacy 600, a Citation XLS and its fifth Learjet 40/45.
“Our goal is to become the largest premium operator of private jets in Europe,” Buschle said.

DC Aviation is already one of the leading operators of business jets in Europe following its establishment after the merger last year of the former DaimlerChrysler Aviation and Cirrus Aviation. Before the merger with DaimlerChrysler Aviation, Cirrus Aviation catered predominantly to Russian clients and the European charter market, whereas DaimlerChrysler Aviation’s key business concentrated on large German and European corporations.

The new DCA is involved in aircraft management, charter operation and business jet maintenance. It currently employs more than 380 people and operates 31 business jets with an average age of 2.44 years. Its Airbus ACJ, configured for 48 passengers and equipped with four additional tanks originally for operating the former DaimlerChrysler’s international corporate shuttle between its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany and Chrysler’s headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., is now offered exclusively for executive charter.

The three ACJs on order, fitted to accommodate up to 22 passengers, will be added to the fleet in the next few months and will most likely be operated through Europe and the Middle East, making DC Aviation the largest operator of this model in Germany’s business aviation market.

The rest of the DCA fleet consists of two Gulfstream G550s, one G450 and a G150, two Global Expresses and a Global 5000, a Falcon 900DX, two Challenger 604s, a Challenger 300, six Legacy 600s, two Learjet 60s and four Learjet 40s, and seven Citation XLSes.