GlobeAir, an air taxi operator in Europe, has acquired two new Citation Mustang jets, taking the total it owns to 16 — the largest fleet of Citation Mustangs in the world.

The company logged 582 flights in Q1/17 averaging 1 hour and 20 minutes, and a high rate of utilization averaging 157 flight hours per aircraft, which is a 31% increase on the same period last year.

Last year, GlobeAir delivered revenue of €21.3 million ($23.94 million), up 19.6% from 2015.

Mauro De Rosa, chief marketing and sales officer of GlobeAir, commented: “We are seeing strong and steady growth for our services; mainly driven by C-suite executives who understand the opportunity cost gained in saving time through efficient travel.

“Entrepreneurs and executives are switching on to the idea that private jet charter is not just for the super-rich. In today’s global economy, they see the value of using business aviation to speed up their deals and lift their companies to higher levels of efficiency.

“Compared to the past, what is remarkable is that not only large corporations, but also local enterprises and promising start-ups, are making greater use of the air taxi industry.

“It is obvious that flying directly to the final destination by private jet is more convenient and comfortable for those who have limited time, although what is more important is that a GlobeAir flight allows the user to schedule business travel to at least three times more destinations in Europe than airlines.”

When looking at last year, the three departure countries that GlobeAir saw the biggest increase in cross border revenue flights were France, the UK and Switzerland where they saw rises of 19%, 36% in departures and 5% respectively on 2015.