Bestfly (Luanda 4 De Fevereiro) has acquired Austrian aircraft asset management company MS Aviation (Vienna) as part of its broader European expansion drive, announced Bestfly Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer Nuno Pereira.

"Bestfly has developed an expansion strategy that focuses on critical steps in the European and Caribbean markets. Leveraging our recent additions to our executive board, we are executing this expansion strategy in multiple phases. The acquisition of MS Aviation is a critical part of this growth strategy," he stated. "MS Aviation gives us a further foothold in Europe from where we will expand the existing corporate aircraft management services, add another link to our current European VIP charter business, and further establish a broader structure of commercial aircraft ACMI solutions."

As part of the acquisition by Bestfly, MS Aviation will relocate its offices to Graz in Austria. "We are already engaged in the evaluation of various commercial aircraft types to be added to our business aviation expertise," commented MS Aviation Accountable Manager Michael Mayer. "We have good experience on Gulfstream Aerospace, Bombardier Aerospace, and Dassault Aviation business jets, so this is yet another area of efficiency that will be added to Bestfly's operations in Europe."

Bestfly was established in 2009 as an Angolan company for ground handling services and has since grown into a multinational aviation group with several new markets and business segments. The company has since expanded its presence from Angola into Aruba, Portugal, Cabo Verde, Austria, the UAE, DR Congo, Guyana, and Senegal. In Cabo Verde, its subsidiary Bestfly Cabo Verde (3B, Praia) operates domestic air links between the islands of the archipelago.

The group's current fleet stands at 27 aircraft based on an assortment of Bombardier, Falcon, Gulfstream, Hawker Siddeley (Manchester Woodford) and Textron Aviation (Wichita Cessna Aircraft Field) Cessna Citation business jets, Beech (twin turboprop) turboprops, Leonardo Aircraft (Milan Malpensa) and Bell Helicopter (TXH, Fort Worth Meacham) helicopters. It also operates one ERJ 190-100AR and two ATR72-600 turboprops, the ch-aviation fleets module shows. The diverse fleet serves key commercial markets and long-term contract customers throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.