Shell Aircraft International, based at

Rotterdam The Hague Airport Rotterdam The Hague Airport (formerly ''Rotterdam Airport'', ''Vliegveld Zestienhoven'' in Dutch language, Dutch), is a minor international airport serving Rotterdam, the Netherlands' second largest city, and The Hague, its administrative and r ...

, operates executive

business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking coworker, associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more ...

aircraft for

Shell plc Shell plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and second ...

headquarters, and for one Shell Group operating company,

Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States–based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is among the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...

in the United States. It also provides advice on air operations and flight standards to Shell Group companies. Of historical note,

Sir Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one sha ...

, Second World War

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) and double-leg amputee was aviation director in the United Kingdom for Royal Dutch Shell. Prior to 2000, Shell Aircraft Limited operated corporate jets for Shell Group headquarters, and Shell Oil and Shell Canada operated their aircraft independently. In 2000, the three operations were linked in Shell Aircraft International, whose first CEO was Brian Humphries. On 4 October 2013, the operation of Shell Canada Aviation based in Calgary was closed down after 60 years operation, and future operations were contracted out to Flair Airlines Ltd. The

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

telephony designator (

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

) changed from SHELL to PECTEN in the Edition 201 of the ICAO DOC 8585 Edition 201, published July 2022, however the three-letter designator remained SHE.

Fleet

Shell Aircraft International also works with

Brunei Shell Petroleum Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) is a joint venture between the Royal Dutch/Shell Group and government of Brunei, primarily responsible for the exploration and production of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Originally known as the British Mal ...

(BSP), the Shell Group's

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

operating company (a 50-50

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with the Brunei Government), which operates four

Sikorsky S-92 The Sikorsky S-92 is an American twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft for the civil and military helicopter markets. The S-92 was developed from the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter and has similar parts such as flight control ...

and two

AgustaWestland AW139 The AgustaWestland AW139, now known as the Leonardo AW139, is a 15-seat medium-sized twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, now part of Leonardo. It is marketed at several differ ...

. Brunei Shell Petroleum is the only Shell operating company to operate its own helicopters; elsewhere, helicopter operations are contracted out to companies such as

Bristow Helicopters Bristow Helicopters Limited is a British civil helicopter operator originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, which is currently a part of the U.S.-based Bristow Group () which in turn has its corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas, U.S ...

Former fleet

Aircraft formerly operated by Shell Aviation (former name of Shell Aircraft International) and its subsidiaries include British Aerospace HS-125-700B, Dassault Falcon 200,

de Havilland DH.104 Dove The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report which, a ...

DHC-2 Beaver The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined high-wing Propeller (aircraft), propeller-driven STOL, short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been primarily operated as a b ...

DHC-3 Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and h ...

DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada in the mid-1960s and still in production today. Built by De Havilland Canada from 1965 to 1988, Viking Ai ...

Dornier Do-28 Dornier Do 28 is a type designation that comprises two different twin-engine STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by German company Dornier Flugzeugbau GmbH. Most of them served with the German Air Force and ''Marineflieger'' and other air forces ...

, Dornier 328-300 328JET Envoy 3,

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

Embraer 175 The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast, narrow-body, short- to medium-range, twin-engined jet airliners designed and produced by Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The E-Jet was designed to complement Embraer’s earlier ...

Fairchild F-27 The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 are versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined, turboprop, passenger aircraft formerly manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to ...

, and

Piper PA-23 Aztec The Piper PA-23, named Apache and later Aztec, is an American four- to six-seat twin-engined general aviation light aircraft, used also in small numbers by the United States Navy and military forces in other countries. Originally designed as the ...

. Former Brunei Shell Petroleum include

Aérospatiale Alouette III The Aérospatiale Alouette III (, ''Lark''; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by France, French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a popular ro ...

, Auster J5B Autocar (VR-UDO), Beech 90,

Beech 99 The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by American manufacturer Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, deriv ...

, Percival P50 Prince,

Short Sealand The Short SA.6 Sealand was a light commercial amphibious aircraft designed and produced by Short Brothers. It was sized to accommodate between five and seven passengers as well as to suit the general overseas market in territories with suitable ...

, Sikorsky S55 Whirlwind, Sikorsky S61 Sea King, and Vickers Supermarine Type 309 Sea Otter.

References

External links

FDM – An Operator's Perspective
by Stan Medved (Director Corporate Aviation, Shell Aircraft International), at

Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom) The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the statutory corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the United Kingdom. Its areas of responsibility include: * Supervising the issuing of pilots and aircraft engineers ...

Flight Data Monitoring for Business Jet Operators Conference, 14 November 2012 Companies based in Rotterdam Aviation in the Netherlands {{Netherlands-company-stub