All of the Above – UK’s newest operator launches with 25 fixed-price routes

Essex, founder, CEO and accountable manager of Above with the operator's first aircraft, an Embraer Phenom 100.

Greeting CJI from the cabin of his freshly acquired Embraer Phenom 100, Vince Essex said Above, the UK’s newest operator, is designed for a “different style of flyer”.

Operating from Birmingham Airport’s XLR Executive Jet Centre, Above launches with 25 published fixed-price, city pair destinations across the UK and Europe, alongside flexible on-demand private charter services via charter brokers.

“Above is there to serve the UK domestic and near‑European market,” Essex, founder, CEO and accountable manager told CJI.

“We are for a different style of flyer – I’ve categorised them as modern achievers: people who run small businesses, do well, generally have that higher disposable income. I openly say that Vista Jets and NetJets are there for millionaires and billionaires. I accept that, but I feel there is a younger growing market of higher‑disposable‑income owners where the Phenom 100 is much more attractive.”

Essex said that is the core message behind Above. The operator was granted approval from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in mid-July. It has one Phenom 100 on the books (reg: G-FABV), and Essex confirmed a second Phenom 100 has been identified with discussions ongoing as to where to position it.

“I believe the Phenom 100 is a much better fit to the market than a Mustang or a CJ1 or 2,” he said. “The aircraft offers that mini‑bizliner, as I call it, and introduces flying to people who may have thought, ‘I didn’t realise we could go to Paris from £13,000 for a night, and divide that by four people’. A corporate day out golfing, or a family saving time. That’s where we’re aiming.”

Above was borne out of the acquisition of Bournemouth,UK-based King Aero operator Alto Aerospace. Essex went through a “rigorous” seven‑month of removing the King Air, renaming the company, redoing the manuals, proving the experience of the Phenom and adding it to the AOC.

“It’s been a long journey, but the latter part was really helpful – they [CAA] were pushing and rooting for Above. We finish crew training today. We are now live in Avinode. Our website is live, focused on 25 fixed‑price destinations to trial from our local base in Birmingham… It’s our own unit, not subject to any owner approval – purely a dedicated charter aircraft,” said Essex.

City pairs blueprint

Above’s fixed-price city pairs is what sets it apart from the typical charter operator. The team gleaned from data from various sources, including ADSB data, when devising which pairs to include. Pairings were devised depending on their value for leisure, reaching second homes, domestic UK destinations for corporate entities and the same for some European destinations.

“That list can grow to 50, to 100, to every airfield in Europe. But we’re conscious we wanted to try something a little different – not challenge the market, but say to it, we’re not scared of issuing fixed pricing. We want to see if that’s a way forward, and whether it can be replicated at other airports,” said Essex.

“We always include a broker commission; we are absolutely adamant we are not cutting out the broker. These routes are here to raise awareness to potential clients that there is a jet at your local airport. There was nothing based in Birmingham. We see movements every day in and out, so it was important to launch here, where we’re not slot‑restricted, 24/7 and centrally located in the UK.”

Data will drive expansion

Essex is staying open-minded about potential fleet additions, and said the “data will the drive the market”. He wants to create Above as a mini branded charter operation, so whatever trip is booked an identical unit turns up – the only difference being a digit in the registration.

“We’re passionate about delivering so a broker cannot say, ‘you’ve delivered something different on the day.’ Data will drive whether we look at [Phenom] 300s for more range and payload. That goes back to why we chose the Phenom. If we’d gone for a [Bombardier] Global we would be chasing a very small long‑haul market from the UK. The Phenom is, as I keep saying, all things to all people,” said Essex.

“We don’t want five different aircraft, five different liveries or interiors. Whether it’s Bravo Victor or Bravo Zulu, it is consistent. That mini‑branded operation is a market we see.”

‘Embraer gives us everything’

“Beggars can’t be choosers, and we will look at all sorts of aircraft types and markets,” said Essex when quizzed on fleet agnosticism. That said, Above has been founded on the philosophy that he would “love to develop an Embraer platform”.

An aviation veteran of about 30 years, Essex started out in airline operations. Then, in the early 2000s, he formed his own group of companies – a concierge business, airline station management and flight supervision. In 2010, he joined startup Cello Aviation, which pioneered the all‑business narrow‑body market, as a consultant.

“We built up a fabulous business at Cello – flew all of the Premiership football teams, a lot of royalty, VIPs and pop tours like Coldplay,” he recalled. Throughout it all, Essex has been a big fan of Embraer.

“Embraer give us everything we need as an operator, starting right with the smallest Embraer product of a 100 through to an E190 or 195. If we were ever to go back into that sports market, Embraer are the only operator that can give us everything all the way through.”

Another benefit of the Phenom 100 is value for money. Essex said his team have seen revives as $2m for a 2010 model with 3,500-4,000 hours. “It’s a lot of aircraft for the money,” he noted. “I could probably have five 100s for the price of a 300. That’s in the back of my mind as CEO, accountable manager and part‑owner: look what we can have and what can we do in the market, versus one other aircraft giving more seats and payload.”

‘Not chasing hours’

Previous experience in VIP and sports tours taught Essex that chasing hours can be a false economy. “A diluted yield in the hourly rate and you can be over very quickly,” he said.

“We have a different pricing model; I won’t say what it is, but we don’t chase hours. The fixed pricing is not a challenge – it was one of the things I wanted Above to do differently. We don’t see much fixed pricing out there. Globe Air are great, their model is brilliant, and I’ve looked at it closely and thought, can we replicate that here in the UK with a different type?”

The model is on trial for now, but if successful could prove to be a funnel to further expansion. In encouraging a new demographic of flyers into ‘corporate-esque’ aviation, Essex thinks demonstrating the value could lead to more business.

“We’re not corporate, we’re not executive – other operators do that market very well. We’re encouraging a different generation of flyers coming up, and that could lead to other things. Once you get somebody on a Phenom and say this is $2.5m, that opens up a management deal, opens a lot of doors,” he said.

Above began operations last week, and within the first seven days has operated four commercial flights, taking in Oslo, Aberdeen, Dundee, Farnborough and Guernsey.