Welcome to Astraeus Airlines

January 2010

We start the New Year with hope and optimism.  Will 2010 bring the green shoots of recovery?  Are we on the threshold of the road to economic activity more like 2007?  My recent attendance at finance conferences suggest we are, and the bankers are certainly hoping it is, but unfortunately I doubt it.  The sad news is that we continue to see a long string of failures and poor financial results with industry losses forecast to reach record levels.  Nevertheless, I am pleased to announce that all of our existing clients seem to be holding up well and are optimistic for 2010, in no small part because of the tremendous flexibility Astraeus has shown on their behalf and reacting to changes in their business circumstances.  In fact Astraeus will commence operations this year to New York and Winnipeg, as one of our existing clients expands their operation into North America.

We are also talking with new clients to offer services in South America, the Middle East, the Far East and West Africa.  The credit for this must go to our dedicated staff that have wholeheartedly taken on board the state of the market and have gone to extraordinary lengths to provide a first-class customer service.  I am also very pleased that Astraeus was available to help with relief flights to Haiti.  In the face of that terrible tragedy, our staff gave up leave and personal commitments and worked tirelessly to get aircraft into service that were on maintenance and dispatch them to the disaster area within hours.  Astraeus were able to dispatch aircraft from both the UK and Iceland.

Despite the poor economic conditions, it is nevertheless a true statement that every problem presents opportunity and this dire economic situation is no exception.  In fact you might not be aware that the Chinese word for crisis can also be translated as opportunity (or more literally a chance to take a risk).  The recession has seen a dramatic reduction in capacity, but as a result, we are already seeing the emergence of new start operations looking to fill niche markets and expand on emerging business opportunities.  These new airlines require consultancy and operational support and we have a number of new clients in various parts of the world seeking our help and assistance.

So in conclusion, I am in fact optimistic that 2010 will be a good year for Astraeus, if not a defining year, a year where we gently expand our business in various parts of the world and continue to return satisfactory financial results for our shareholders.