Blink buys MyJet and Blackbushe Airport

Blink now has nine Cessna Citation Mustangs

Blink has acquired Italian air taxi company MyJet. In a separate transaction it has also acquired Blackbushe Airport, where the UK operator is based.

Blink will add MyJet’s three Cessna Citation Mustangs to its fleet. It is also buying MyJet’s maintenance facilty in Genoa.

“The three aircraft are great to have but the maintenance base is pretty game changing for us,” says Cameron Ogden, managing director and co-founder of Blink. “It should cut our labour bill by 35%.” He says that the North Italy base is also convenient for supporting aircraft flying down to the south of France. The MyJet aircraft will eventually take on Blink’s branding.

With the MyJet aircraft, Blink’s fleet is now nine aircraft and Ogden is keen to keep growing. This could be both through other acquisitions and by buying individual aircraft. Ogden says that aircraft taxi companies become most efficient when their fleet is above 12 aircraft.

“We have been talking about consolidation for a long time and it is great to close our first acquisition but it is going to take time for the industry to consolidate,” says Ogden. “This is a demonstration that the European air taxi industry has come of age and that the much talked about period of consolidation has started,” says Ogden. “But it is going to take time. Our investor base is patient and know it will happen.”

Blink launched in 2008, having successfully completed a $30 million round of equity funding with European investors

“Blackbushe Airport has been Blink’s home for the last four years and has allowed us to offer an exceptional private aviation experience without the unnecessary costs of some airports,” says Ogden. “In buying the airport we have secured the opportunity to consolidate our operations and the room to expand.”

Ogden believes demand is returning in Europe. “We had a tough first quarter in our minds, we grew but not as much as we predicted. April was better and May was very strong,” he says. “I am very optimistic about the summer.”