McEvaddys' firm had sales of €2.5m to sister company

OMEGA AVIATION, the Dublin company owned by the McEvaddy brothers, had sales of €2

OMEGA AVIATION, the Dublin company owned by the McEvaddy brothers, had sales of €2.46 million to its related US business, Omega Air Inc, in 2009, according to accounts just filed.

During the year the US company paid expenses on behalf of the Dublin company totalling €388,756 and, at year’s end, the Dublin business owed €3.58 million to its US counterpart.

The aviation business owned by Ulick and Desmond McEvaddy is a substantial one and includes two US companies, Omega Air Inc and Omega Aerial Refuelling Services Inc. The latter company provides in-flight refuelling services to the US military and other air forces.

Dublin-based Omega made a profit of €391,633 in 2009 and had shareholders’ funds of €1.2 million at year’s end. It had fixed assets of just €40,332. The accounts for the US businesses, which are separately owned, are not available.

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A mortgage registered by Anglo Irish Bank in June 2009 against Omega Aviation states that the agreement was also with Omega Air Inc and Bacchus Aviation Inc, with the last two companies being described as the borrowers. It is not known who owns Bacchus.

The mortgage, the first registered by the Dublin company since the mid-1990s, identifies seven Boeing 707s and a DC 10, with the DC 10 and one of the Boeings being described as Bacchus aircraft. Three of the Boeings are described as parked aircraft. The documents says they are parked in the Mojave Desert in the US.

The document cites two February 2009 aircraft operating leases between Omega Aviation and Bacchus in respect of two identified Boeings as well as leases involving a further two identified Boeings that are leased by Omega Aviation to Omega Air and then in turn sub-leased to Omega Aerial Refueling Services Inc.

The website of the refuelling company says it is the only company providing commercial fee-for-service in-flight refueling services. The company has provided services to the US military and more latterly the Australian, Canadian and British military. It has flown more than 2,500 missions over the past seven years, the website says.

“The brains behind the success of Omega’s commercial tanking program are brothers Ulick and Desmond McEvaddy, two Irish aviation entrepreneurs with headquarters in Dublin.”

A former Pan Am aircraft was converted into a tanker in Mojave, California and first flew as a tanker in 1999, according to the website. The websites says the McEvaddys own jet aircraft all over the world.

Colm Keena

Colm Keena

Colm Keena is an Irish Times journalist. He was previously legal-affairs correspondent and public-affairs correspondent