Page 7 - Volume 14 Number 7

Howard has had a lifelong interest in cars due to his father owning a small garage. Here he is with his 1990 BMW Z1 and at left is his rare 1957 Daimler Drophead Coupé.
Howard retired from his firm in 2003 and opened DragonFly in 2004 with his wife Nerida. At first, he maintained a connection to the legal industry as chairman of an international association of lawyers headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, while growing the charter business. It didn’t take long, though, for DragonFly to command all of his attention.
Growth was fast because DragonFly was the only air charter company to serve the business community in South Wales. His decision to start the business with a King Air and operate from Cardiff Airport allowed him to offer time-efficient and cost-effective transportation throughout the U.K. and Europe.
“We are based on the south side of the airport, on the other side from the main passenger terminal,” Howard said of the Cardiff Airport. “Traffic is relatively light and we are not subject to the use of slots for aircraft arrivals and departures. Because there are no environmental restrictions, the airport is open 24/7 which is rare in our small country where airspace is busy and highly controlled.”
Another factor that accelerated the company’s growth from a standing start to nearly 400 charter hours within a year was the recognition of DragonFly by charter brokers.
JULY 2020
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 5