Six months on, CorporateJets has seen increasing charter business since opening a second base in Madrid, and now plans to base a Citation XLS in Ibiza and Palma for the busy summer months of July and August.

"Due to the growing demand for corporate flights that are constantly arising from central Spain, at the end of last year, CorporateJets pledged its commitment to open its new operational base in the Spanish capital, specifically at Torrejon airport," says sales and marketing manager Susanna Aligué.

"This was a great decision because our business volume has been consistently increasing since then, not only from a quantitative point of view, but also for branding purposes. We have achieved being a company of reference within our national territory, even taking into consideration the big Spanish companies we have as competitors."

The Barcelona-based operator has been taking marketing very seriously during the past year, and this has played a significant part in increasing business. On arrival in Madrid it organised an official presentation of the company at the prestigious Reebok Sport Club, and last winter it decided to obtain certification for flying to some special airfields for skiing enthusiasts, such as St Moritz, Courchevel or Gstaad. It created a loyalty programme for new customers with vip cards offering benefits and special discounts for its holders, and offered special rates for flights to hunting destinations, with the collaboration of the company Cazaworld.com, the biggest Spanish web site for the hunting sector.

CorporateJets has alliances with two important skiing companies: Pyrenees Heliski and Procenter Baqueira, and exhibits widely at events such as JetExpo Moscow, EBACE and the Monaco Yacht Show. "We do believe that all those actions have enhanced our brand and it helps us to survive the current crisis situation we are all living through," says Aligué.

The company says it is the only Spanish operator based in Barcelona that has increased its business volume this year, according to airport statistics. "What's more, we have, at this stage of the year, a turnover higher than last year, so we can't complain!" she adds.