A 44-seat executive interior configuration is now offered on one of Titan”s four Boeing 737-300s, which is being aimed at the corporate market.
Titan”s commercial director Alastair Kiernan said the aircraft was a Quick Change model, meaning it operated as a freighter overnight but could be converted to 130 or 44 seats within an hour. The aircraft has a maximum range of four and half hours and is offered on a day-trip basis mid-week.
”Because it runs five nights a week on our mail service, we can offer it at very competitive rates comparative to a business jet,” he said.
The all-business format has a front section of eight facing seats set around tables, while the rest of the cabin offers a 62-inch seat pitch and multi-channel hand-held in-flight entertainment with laptop power in every seat.
Titan will add its first wide-body, a Boeing 767-300ER, next December. Kiernan said the lease of the aircraft followed requests from cruise lines, government offices and football teams for destinations like the Caribbean and Far East. The 767 will seat 265 in a 2-3-2 configuration and will be available at 90 minutes notice.
Titan also takes delivery of a new generation 737-800 in May, which is likely to be offered with its maximum 189-seat configuration. Both new aircraft are five years old and on long leases.
In addition, the company, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, operates two Boeing 757-200s, which also offer the all-business format, plus four BAE 146s and a nine-seater Kingair 350.
Last year, it made a pre-tax profit of ”8.7 million on a turnover of ”48 million, a margin of more than 18 per cent, which is high for the airline industry.
Gary Noakes