Sevenair - PSO and ACMI Experts
Headquartered at Cascais Aerodrome, a small general aviation airfield to the west of Lisbon, Portugal, Sevenair is a major aviation group with interests in almost every aspect of commercial aviation, from sky-diving and aerobatic flights to flight training, aircraft maintenance, and scheduled airline services.
The company began by establishing the first commercial Pilot school in Portugal, Aero Avia, in 1980. During its over 40 years of operations, the Sevenair Group has developed one of the largest flight training facilities in Europe, with a fleet of over 50 aircraft. The company’s little-known airline branch has become an expert in the commuter aircraft market, specializing in public service obligations (PSO) and ACMI (wet leasing) contracts, having operated in over 14 countries in Europe and Africa.
Sergio Leal, the airline’s Flight Operations Manager, who has been with the airline since its beginnings in 2008, told Airways how the airline got started. “The company decided to buy two Dornier 228s from the Portuguese carrier AeroCondor, who ceased operations that year,” Leal related. “The objective was to tender for the PSO contract connecting Lisbon to Braganca using these new aircraft. We won the tender, so we operated this route for the next three years. Since then, the tender has been renewed multiple times, and we have continuously won it. We have effectively been operating this route uninterrupted since January 2009.”
Aside from the PSO route in Portugal, Sevenair has grown its presence overseas. In 2013, Aurigny Airlines (Channel Islands) was looking for a replacement for its aging Tri-islanders, which had similar STOL (short take-off and landing) capability to land at the small airstrips it serves, such as Alderney. Aurigny requested that Sevenair operate one of its Dornier Do-228s on their network on wet-lease terms to determine whether the aircraft was suitable for its operations (CS-TGG MSN 8160). Following the trial, Aurigny was satisfied with the performance and purchased its first Dornier 228 (G-SAYE MSN 8046). Sevenair continued to provide input in the form of flight training for the Aurigny aircrews and aircraft maintenance. Aurigny, which has continued to operate the planes to this day, has gone on to purchase the ‘New Generation’ model; it’s still very much committed to the type.
Meanwhile, the PSO tender to connect the Portuguese islands of Madeira and Porto Santo came up, and Sevenair’s bid was successful. The company operated the route from 2014 to 2018 using a Jetstream 32 (CS-DVQ MSN 857), carrying an average of 33,000 passengers per year. The tender for the route was renewed in 2018 and was awarded to Spanish regional carrier Binter Canarias, which uses the much larger ATR-72 on the route. The tender came up again for renewal last year, and Sevenair is hopeful it may be awarded to it once again.
“We believe Binter Canarias will reapply. However, our offering will be completely different from theirs,” Sergio Leal said. “Currently, they operate the ATR-72 once per day, and we have proposed flying up to six flights per day during peak season using our smaller Jetstream or Dornier aircraft. Our proposal, therefore, offers a lot more flexibility to visitors and residents, which will allow for better connectivity for onward travel or for reaching appointments on Madeira. We really hope that this tender will come our way once the government has concluded their study.”
Apart from the PSO contracts, Sevenair has also been busy operating aircraft in the ACMI (wet-lease) capacity on behalf of other operators. It has been working in Cabo Verde, connecting the islands on behalf of the nation’s Ministry of Defense, chiefly performing medical evacuations on the Jetstream 32 from 2018 to 2020. The aircraft was specially refitted for the medevac role to provide fast transport between the islands. Unfortunately, this contract came to an end when the pandemic began. More recently, since May 2022, Sevenair has been operating in São Tomé and Príncipe, an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It has been connecting the capital with the smaller island of Príncipe.
“The national airline, STP Airways, asked Sevenair to help with this route,” said Leal, “as the Ukrainian company who had been operating the route for years had to cease operations due to the war. STP have been very happy with the service so far. We operate four sectors between the islands daily and have averaged 17 passengers on the 19-seat Jetstream 32. So, it’s been very encouraging seeing consistently high numbers.”
The company has continued to enlarge its presence in the globalmarket in the last year, having also briefly operated domestic routes in Estonia on behalf of Transaviabaltika, an Estonian Airline that holds the PSO contract for the Kärdla-Tallinn domestic route.
“We can confidently say that, even though we are not an old company, we have amassed a lot of experience and become experts in this area of the market,” Leal said
THE LEGACY ROUTE: LISBON TO BRAGANCA
A four-sector route covering only 330 miles in mainland Europe might sound a bit unusual and costly to run. However, a subsidy from the Portuguese Ministry of Planning and Infrastructure keeps it viable. Viseu, Vila Real, and Braganca are small cities in the country’s hinterland, all with poor road and public transport connections to the coastal cities. Therefore, the government provides support to ensure fast connections by air. Having operated the Portugal mainland PSO route for 14 years, the airline has become well accustomed to the challenges of flying in and out of small aerodromes around the country.
“Sevenair’s secret to operating this route safely and successfully for years is simple. Firstly, it’s our very experienced air crews, who have been operating to these airfields for a long time.Secondly, the Dornier’s STOL characteristics mean that the short runways are not a problem. The cruise and climb performance of the Dornier are also way ahead of other 19-seat aircraft on the market, such as the Let-410 and DHC-6 Twin Otter. Additionally, we have equipped the aircraft with RNP approach capabilities, which is helpful at Vila Real as there’s high terrain and the possibility of cloud or reduced visibility in the valley.”
The PSO was initially set up to benefit those business travelers in the north of the country who require quick access to Lisbon. The airline serves around 13,000 passengers per year on the route, many of whom will fly several times per week. In 2015, Sevenair extended the route to include Portimão on the Algarve coast and Viseu, situated between Vila Real and Braganca, to target strenghening tourism to the beaches on the Algarve and the vineyards in the Douro Valley. Sevenair said that the current PSO contract is due for renewal in February 2024. Even though there was little indication of competition emerging for the route, it looked forward to submitting its proposal for consideration.
FLYING THE PSO CIRCUIT
Flying on the Portimão-Braganca route is a passenger experience that is completely different from that one can have on any other commercial airline service in Europe.
The Portimão Aerodrome maintains the Algarve region’s laid-back atmosphere with its onsite café tables and parasols spilling out into the car park and tourists and passers-by enjoying the early morning sun. The airfield is predominantly a hub for skydiving. Sevenair’s Skydive Seven business occupies most of the hangar space, which lines the apron. Inside the airport building, the only trace of an airline service was a small notice stuck to the wall indicating that check-in would be open for 30 minutes prior to two scheduled flights planned for the day.
When I arrived, the aircraft was en route from Lisbon. An employee appeared and rolled up a set of shutters to reveal a compact check-in desk set nestled among the café and skydiving stores. From Portimão, I would fly to the end of the line at Braganca—effectively the opposite end of the country, right on the northeast border with Spain. It would be a four-sector journey, with stops at Cascais, Viseu, and Vila Real. Once I had my boarding pass, the Portuguese National Guard carried out a security check by hand, involving a pat down and rifle through my luggage before letting me enter the compact boarding area. The single gate area comprised a row of seats and a TV playing the aircraft safety demonstration on a loop. The ambiance was soon disrupted by the arrival of the Dornier 228 (CS-AYT MSN 8084) from Cascais. The pre-boarding safety video minimized the crew’s onboard workload. I fully grasped their efficiency when only the port side engine was shut down for boarding and we were hurried out onto the apron. We boarded and our baggage was loaded within minutes, and the props of Engine One started to spool up as the door was closed. Total turnaround time was under five minutes. This level of quickness would be the norm at every stop along the way to Braganca.
Airborne from Portimão and climbing towards 10,000ft, we were treated to a view along the stunning Algarve and southern Portuguese coastline. We briefly left the mainland for the Atlantic before making landfall again over Arábida National Park south of Lisbon. Keen aviation enthusiasts who have done their research beforehand will no doubt select Seat 2A, knowing there is something quite unusual there—a bubble window that has been installed to enable passengers to stick their heads out of the fuselage and look out in all directions.
Leaving the Algarve coast for a brief stint over the Atlantic Ocean enroute to Cascais from Portimão. The unpressurized Dornier doesn’t climb above FL100 making for some excellent views along the coastline.
The arrival at Cascais again felt like something different. The Dornier pulled onto a ramp packed with corporate jets. A change of crew was carried out, and all passengers deplaned. The Lisbon-bound passengers made their way to a free shuttle bus to the city center. Meanwhile, those going further on were given a transit card and directed into the Departures area of the terminal building. Sevenair utilizes the VIP terminal at Cascais, so passengers find themselves among the ultra-wealthy who are waiting to board their Gulfstreams or Cessna Citations. After the brief stop, came the next leg to Viseu in central Portugal, which, at 50 minutes, would be the longest. The airstrips started to change from bustling to placid, from built- up industry to general aviation airfields. Landing at Viseu, we were greeted by only a small airport building and combined control tower. The only other sign of air traffic was a Cessna 152 in the circuit. No time for a look around there, though. It was another five-minute engine-running turnaround.
Departing Cascais with their VIP apron and terminal in view, which is also utilized by Sevenair.
The next leg to Vila Real had only recently been reinstatedafter the airport’s 2019 closure, which had been due to major runway repairs to fix the cracks caused by an underwater stream that flowed underneath the runway. Peering into the open cockpit, I could see Vila Real set up on the Garmin GPS, the ETA coming in less than 20 minutes.
We flew the last two legs to Vila Real and, finally, Braganca at low level, through valleys where some ridges were at eye level or above. The cruise got a bit turbulent, there being high terrain on either side. The upside was provided by the views of endless cultivated land for farms and wineries, in contrast to the dry landscape seen in the south of the country. Arriving at Braganca, there was no other aircraft or activity, only tranquil countryside surrounding the airfield.
Despite the challenges of maintaining a tight flight schedule with multiple stops, crew changes, and sometimes difficult conditions, Sevenair pulls off this route twice per day in both directions with seeming effortlessness. The four take-offs and landings, along with the other unusual aspects, make this route stick out. It clearly fits the bill of being a quick on/off service for Portuguese residents. And it provides a treat for those aviation enthusiasts who want to sample a different way of flying in Europe.
