Universal Aviation in Europe reports that it increased market share in 2009. Jonathan Howells, regional director Europe, the Middle East and Africa, says: "Despite the financial crisis and global recession of the past 18 months, Universal Aviation has continued to make the necessary investments in people, facilities and equipment.

"As a result, we actually saw an increase in market share at our European locations during this period. I believe this reflects the fact that service continues to be the number one priority for operators." He adds: "In today's economy, it is more important than ever for operators to mitigate risk. Ramp safety is a number one priority for all of our customers. Anyone working with aircraft needs to be well trained and audited on a regular basis."

Howells says that, in 2009, Universal Aviation became the first ground support services company in Europe certified with the National Air Transportation Association's Safety 1st Professional Line Service Training. "We now have four certified European locations: Universal Aviation (UK) Ltd (Stansted), Universal Aviation Dublin, Universal Aviation Shannon, and Universal Aviation France (Paris)."

In 2010, he adds, the company anticipates that Universal Aviation locations in Greece and Spain will also be Safety 1st PLST certified. "In addition, we will continue to develop our existing nine locations in Europe and are working on a number of development opportunities in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia."