THE Isle of Man Aircraft Register became three years old on 30 April 2010 and it continues to attract high quality global companies to conduct business with the Island.
The total number of new aircraft registered during the second year was 73. It is expected that another 110 new aircraft will have registered by the end of the third year.
The quality of company attracted to the Island during the third year normally remains confidential behind offshore company names, but some new registrations have been in well known retail names such as SpecSavers and Iceland Foods.
A recent Airbus was clearly identified to a senior member of a Middle East Royal family. The Middle East is a major growth area for the register where the Island’s neutral registration prefix allows companies and individuals to conduct global business confidentially.
The registration of commercial airliners, either between leases, or parked awaiting a new lessee is growing rapidly. This business brings increased work to local lawyers, corporate service providers and the importation of the aircraft into Europe through Ronaldsway adds to the airport’s business.
In March three Embraer airliners were registered in India and it is expected one of these will be parked at Ronaldsway for a few weeks bringing additional airport charges. Another Airbus 320 is currently being processed and six more Airbus 320 are planned for later in the year.
Registration charges increase considerably with the increased weight of an aircraft, but the work involved increases only marginally. The more airliners that can be registered the greater the increase in the department’s income. Therefore this area is being actively promoted by the registry in collaboration with local corporate service providers and lawyers.
The administration staff of the registry has recently been increased by a further administrative officer to maintain high service levels and cope with the increasing business. The cost of the additional staff member is easily covered by the increased chargeable costs.
Outlook
With no sign of a slow down in the growth of the Island’s register, the Isle of Man will be the largest global off-shore corporate aircraft register this year. Exceeding the number of equivalent aircraft registered in the current registration leaders (the Cayman Islands and Bermuda).
