Hangar8 sees mining industry upswing

The mining and the oil and gas industries are increasingly using business aviation, says private jet operator Hangar8.

Hangar 8’s Global Express at EBACE 2013 featured one of the show’s catch-eyeing exteriors on display.

Hangar8 Aviation is seeing a growing interest from mining and oil and gas companies looking to private aviation as a solution to complex travel needs.

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The increasing use of business aviation stems from the need to get senior executives to visit difficult and harder to reach mining and drilling locations.

In the past three months, Hangar8’s charter business has seen an increase in inquiries from the mining sector of up to 25 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

Dustin Dryden, chief executive officer of Hangar8, said: “2013 was a difficult year for the mining sector, with its top 40 companies by market cap seeing net profits plunge 72 per cent to a decade low of $20 billion. Mining stocks also dropped 23 per cent to $280 billion.

“However, many commentators believe that the worst is over and there will be disciplined growth and investment during 2014.  In line with this, we have certainly seen an increase in inquiries from oil and gas and mining companies looking to lease and charter our aircraft.”

Many sites are difficult to reach and have little or no infrastructure. Business aircraft can be useful for reaching these areas because they can land on short  and unpaved runways, for example. Analysis by Hangar8 shows that 81 per cent of runways in Africa, for example, are short or unpaved.

“Hangar8 is already a preferred supplier to some of the world’s leading players in this field and we are delighted to see that our experience in servicing this industry is recognised by so many of the top companies,” added Dryden.

Hangar8 manages over 50 aircraft and has bases in Europe, West Africa and Asia.