ASTRAEUS CREATES WORLD'S ONLY BOEING 757 COMBI

ASTRAEUS FLYSTAR
PRESS RELEASE

January 29, 2008.

ASTRAEUS CREATES THE WORLD’S ONLY BOEING 757 COMBI FOR IRON MAIDEN TOUR.

Independent UK-based airline Astraeus has created the world’s only Boeing 757 Combi for rock supergroup Iron Maiden, whose lead singer Bruce Dickinson is a pilot for the airline.

Captain Bruce Dickinson will fly the band and support crew in the 757 on some of the tour sectors. The aircraft has been painted up in “Iron Maiden - Somewhere back in time World Tour 2008” livery, but it has also undergone a certificated interior modification, which has major significance for the worldwide logistics and events industry.

“There has always been an issue with flying passengers and cargo in the same part of an aircraft, however, we worked closely with Bruce and Iron Maiden, and we have created the world’s first and only Boeing 757 ‘Combi’,” said Shaun Monnery of Astraeus.

“On the Iron Maiden tour it will feature 20 business class seats, 54 premium economy seats – and a cargo area where the last ten rows of seats would have been in the rear compartment of the aircraft.

“This cuts days off the turnaround time between concerts on this tour, because the band, crew and essential equipment – up to 12 tons of it, can all travel together meaning a two day road or sea trip can be despatched in hours or even minutes.”

The tour visits India, the Far East, Australasia, the Americas and Europe in February and March 2008.


“But the conversion is not something that’s going to be Iron Maiden-only. It is designed such that we can convert the aircraft one way or the other from Combi to 100% passenger aircraft in three days,” said Shaun Monnery.

“That opens up a whole new area of opportunity for other touring bands, as well as orchestras, for product launches, company events and conferences – and in many cases will massively cut travelling and down-time costs.

“Hour for hour an aircraft will be more expensive, of course, but the cost pales into insignificance compared to booking regular commercial travel, and air, land or sea freight, and, of course, the associated extra nights in hotels.

“For instance, Iron Maiden will play in Mumbai on February 1, and then travel to Perth in Australia for a show on February 4. This means it’s hours between locations, not days. That means the band can rehearse, refine their show - or relax between gigs, with much of the pressures of deadlines completely eradicated.”

UK independent airline Astraeus commenced operations in 2002, employs more then 300 people and operates a fleet of Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft from a number of UK airports, flying charter and scheduled routes to destinations in Canada, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, but is moving strongly into both dry and wet lease partnerships with a number of airlines and operators worldwide.

Ends