Bestfly becomes only FBO to provide aviation fuel in Sub-Saharan Africa

Monday 18th May 2015

Bestfly, the Angola-based aviation services company has announced today at EBACE 2015, where it is exhibiting on the African Pavilion booth A065, that it has signed an agreement with Angola's energy company Sonangol to operate its own dedicated fuel bowser.

The agreement enables Bestfly to control fuel supply to aircraft from its own 45 000 litre bowser provided by Sonangol of Angola. The truck is parked at the FBO, branded in Bestfly colours and is operated by Bestfly team members, making Bestfly the only FBO with a dedicated aviation fuel supply in the Sub-Saharan area of Africa.

Under the terms of the agreement Sonangol will provide continued access to the bowser and aviation fuel.  In addition Sonangol has trained the three-man team operating the bowser in safe operations, human factors and all elements of secure fuel handling which enables the company to offer 24/7 fuel services to arriving and departing aircraft. To streamline the system even further Sonangol has a single point of contact in the accounts department handling accounting, fuel requests and pre-flight inquiries making the fuel administration process leaner for all concerned.

Bestfly has been Sonangol's largest dedicated private aviation fuel customer since the FBO opened five years ago, and the agreement is an extension of this long-standing relationship. "We have a lot of trust between the companies and this has helped us reach this agreement," says Nuno Pereira, Managing Director of Bestfly. " We have seen a dramatic rise in demand over the last couple of years, and Sonangol has acknowledged the increased volume of our uptake. We are delighted they have agreed to work with us to enable a more efficient service to our customers, " adds Pereira. The placement of the bowser at the Bestfly FBO supports an even better turn round time.

Executive aircraft movements in and out of Luanda International Airport continue to grow as the mineral and energy markets grow; and the diversification of the Angolan economy continues. The new deal will support this growth. The bowser began operations in April 2015, and has already fuelled aircraft up to Airbus Corporate Jet ACJ320 in size. For larger aircraft Sonangol will provide a second bowser as needed. "Our customers have an improved experience as a result of the deal and we are delighted to be one of the few FBOs in Africa that can supply aviation fuel direct to the aircraft, its still unusual on the continent for an FBO to control their fuel supply but we hope this is the start of a trend" adds Pereira.

www.bestfly.aero