Bestfly, the Angola-based aviation services company has been selected by Chevron, through its subsidiary, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Ltd. (CABGOC), to provide all ground handling and flight support services to its entire aviation related operations in Angola. The contract, which commenced in September, covers the complete Chevron fleet of four Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 aircraft, and 10 Bell Helicopters, which serve its offshore operations at its oil-producing base in Malongo.

The three-year contract, with an option to extend for a further two years, was awarded following a long, highly rigorous and competitive tender process. Bestfly was selected based on its ability to provide an efficient and competitively priced operation that could meet the high standards of safety, quality and audits required by the oil company. According to Chevron, safety was of paramount importance in the decision making process given the challenging operating environments in the region.

Commenting on the contract, Nuno Pereira, Managing Director of Bestfly said: “We are very proud to be working with a highly-respected company such as Chevron/Cabinda Gulf Oil Company. Our contract win is indicative of the high levels of service, safety and efficiency that we supply to our customers.”

The newly awarded contract will typically involve four flights a day served by the Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 with a helicopter shuttle service. It is anticipated that Bestfly will be handling around 1,500 passengers per week on average to fulfill the contract.

Bestfly has already noticed a significant increase in passenger numbers transiting through its Luanda Airport FBO and it is anticipated that the company will see passenger numbers increase by close to 40% compared with last year. Following the contract win, Bestfly is bolstering its team with the addition of 70 new employees across its Angola-wide operations with the expectation that it will reach 200-strong by year-end.

In April this year Bestfly was awarded ISBAO (International Standard for Business Aviation Operators) Stage 1 status marking the first time that an Angolan company has achieved the standard. Designed to help flight departments and operators achieve a high level of safety and professionalism, it makes Bestfly one of the very few companies in Africa to achieve it and has gone some way to the awarding of this contract. The accreditation is only awarded to a business following a lengthy audit that examines all areas of the business operations, and is the first of three stages. The first one focuses on reviewing the safety management standards, integrated quality of service and is commonly thought of as the pinnacle of industry standards for business aviation.

Bestfly is now aiming to complement the ISBAO Stage 1 with the addition of the ISBAH (International Standards for Business Aviation Handling) certification. “