Direct charter flights between south and north Jiangsu are to begin by the end of the year, according to Wuxi Sunan Shuofang International Airport.
The chartered flights will use PC-12 corporate aircraft from Switzerland Pilatus Aircraft Co, a world-class manufacturer for turbo-prop aircraft and an investor in Asia Express. Costing 39 million yuan ($6 million) after tax, the aircraft was introduced by Wuxi-based Asian Express Aviation Co.
Equipped with leather seats, folding desks and reading lights, the craft can accommodate a maximum of eight passengers, who will be able to use electronic equipment to connect to the airplane’s entertainment system, check its altitude, speed and location.
Asian Express Aviation is scheduled to launch charter flights from Wuxi to Yancheng and Lianyungang, Jiangsu province by the end of the year.
The company will also launch an aeromedical business using a German-made aviation medical transport system equipped with an hyperbaric oxygen and breathing machine, in order to transfer patients.
Asian Express Aviation received its business certificate on April 27, 2015 and provides special services, including trips, charted flights, skydiving, aerial weddings, crop-dusting and aerial photographs.
It has a current fleet of four airplanes, which it plans to increase to 20 in 2016. The current plane models are PC-6 and PC-12.