While the industry in Ireland is dominated by large lease providers, there are other service providers which are keeping the wheels of the industry well-oiled.

One such is Sigmar Aviation, which has carved a niche in facilitating aircraft movements and are experts in physically moving leased aircraft from one location to another.

"Business is steadily increasing, and each month there are many new announcements regarding aircraft orders, " said Richard Carolan of Aircraft Technical & Asset Management at Sigmar Aviation. "The aircraft have to get to the airlines, and in the current market, airlines already have huge crewing pressures - so this is where Sigmar Aviation steps in. The problem for airlines is that each aircraft will require between four and six crews in order to keep it in the air as much as possible. When leasing aircraft, an airline is often responsible for accepting the aircraft, flying it to maintenance facilities and returning the aircraft. Airlines cannot always release crews for these flights as there is a general pilot shortage within the industry."

Sigmar Aviation provides crew for ferry, demonstration, acceptance and delivery flights. Services include crew sourcing and license validations (where necessary); crew mobilisation/demobilisation; flight planning . . . including crew briefing, over-flight permissions, etc; ground handling . . . fueling, parking, catering etc; flight following . . . reporting all movements to the client; and accommodation and ground transport en-route.

"We can provide these services in any country worldwide, on aircraft of any registration . . . in any jurisdiction, " said Carolan. "An aircraft is a valuable asset, but we have built up considerable levels of trust over the years, and this trust has allowed us to build strong relationships with our client companies."

Given Ireland's leading status in aircraft leasing, there is no shortage of leasing companies operating in the market. These include RBS, CIT, AWAS, Babcock and Brown, Pembroke, ORIX, and Aircastle among others. Sigmar Aviation works directly with major lessors and client airlines worldwide providing flexible services, which can be customised to individual client requirements, and are available 24/7, 365 days a year.

In terms of flying, many of Sigmar Aviation's crew members are drawn from a specialist pool of freelance pilots, and every one is selected from a group of prescreened candidates. If necessary, Sigmar Aviation can also supply technical representatives who will also be chosen from a group of prescanned candidates. And, most importantly, Sigmar Aviation uses, where possible, only captains for its twoman crews.

"We need to maintain the right number of freelance captains on-call, so that we have enough to guarantee our clients that we will have crews, but not too many so that our captains start to turn down work, " said Carolan. "Each captain will have a minimum of 5,000 hours in command and a minimum of 2,000 hours on type, and all licenses, medicals, visas and passports will be current. Sigmar Aviation will also endeavor to use crews with relevant flight experience, i. e. where a flight has to take place across areas of open water only crews with trans-oceanic experience will be used."

.Of course, given the complexities of aircraft logistics, it is not enough to simply have an available roster of experienced pilots . . . it is also necessary to have the procedures and people in place on the ground to ensure a smooth transition of aircraft around the world. For example, Sigmar Aviation will identify all aspects associated with a flight, such as visa restrictions, import/export requirements, age restrictions, specific routings or landing clearances required and specific requirements unique to the registration or airworthiness status of the aircraft.

On arrival, Sigmar Aviation will carry out an extensive post-flight evaluation, confirming the safe arrival of the aircraft. It will also ensure that the crew provides all aircraft data required to the technical representative upon arrival, including a detailed report on the aircraft condition, hours, cycles, fuel consumed, fuel remaining on board and any noticed defects.