The italian operator Air Corporate has Many years of experience in serving a demanding clientele with its state-of-the-art helicopter fleet. The company’s passengers can now enjoy travelling further and faster – aboard a brand-new PC-24 Super Versatile Jet.
One day in April 2018, as Paolo Serini was driving through the region of Marche in central Italy, he looked up and was concerned by what he saw. A relatively large jet which he wasn’t able to identify was flying at low altitude just above him. As a helicopter pilot and current COO of Air Corporate, he assumed it was an emergency. The jet continued towards a grassy runway – but jets don’t normally land on grass, as we know. Astonished, he discovered shortly after that Pilatus was using the airfield to conduct a test campaign with a PC-24, and that this new jet can indeed land on grass.
We need a jet!
Paolo Serini has followed the PC-24 programme with great interest ever since that day. For the leap from a pure helicopter operator to an outfit which also offers fixed wing aircraft, the modern Super Versatile Jet from Switzerland was one option considered by Air Corporate. Roano Grandi, CEO of Air Corporate, says: “We knew there was regular demand amongst our clients for longer flights which we couldn’t cover with our helicopters. Given the high demands of our customers, we knew that we had to add a modern aircraft with a spacious cabin to the existing helicopter fleet. After an evaluation phase and a convincing demo flight, we confirmed our decision to opt for the PC-24.”
Twelve helicopters and a PC-24
Air Corporate was founded in 1999 to operate helicopters of two large northern Italian companies. Over the years, a growing number of customers entrusted their helicopters to Air Corporate’s management. Today, the operator owns a fleet of twelve helicopters and, since November of last year, a brand-new PC-24. Every day, Air Corporate’s 41 employees strive to operate the fleet in safety from ten Italian locations. Their goal is to provide passengers with the most pleasant flight possible.
"The PC-24 is quite simply a beautiful aircraft"
The sleek silver-grey PC-24, serial number 245, is operated commercially and has already aroused much interest in Italy. Customer feedback has been consistently positive so far. Paolo Serini says: “With its modern design, the PC-24 is quite simply a beautiful aircraft! That’s the first thing. Secondly, its technical capabilities allow it to take off and land at small airfields with shorter runways such as Milano Bresso or Roma Urbe, opening up new horizons. Finally, the generous cabin provides a very pleasant feeling of spaciousness. I don’t know if it’s the design, the lighting or the flat floor, but when our customers sit down inside the cabin of the PC-24, they feel like they’re travelling in a superior category aircraft”. The PC-24 has its home base in Milan, from where it flies to cities all over Europe. Demand at Air Corporate is such that the company decided to order a second PC-24 earlier this year.