About Quest Air

Who we are

Quest Air is a Cape Town private aviation company with bases in Cape Town, Dubai and Jefferson, Georgia (USA). Every engagement is led personally by our founder, Captain Hilmar Johann Op'Thof, a corporate captain on the Gulfstream G700 and Bombardier Global 7500/8000.

Our mission

To give owners, operators and travel partners a single, experienced point of contact for large-cabin and ultra-long-range operations: current, typed and personally accountable from first call to last sector.

What we stand for

  • Safety: current recurrent training, proficiency checks and international procedures, and every sector flown to the same standard as a passenger trip, including ferry and positioning legs.

  • Discretion: two decades flying corporate and VIP aircraft for private owners and flight departments. Client, passenger and trip details stay private.

  • VVIP standards: clear communication with the owner, scheduler and crew, and close attention to the detail that high-net-worth and VVIP travellers expect.

Captain Hilmar Johann Op'Thof, founder

Hilmar is a South African corporate captain with 13,280 hours total time, 9,340 hours as jet pilot-in-command and more than two decades flying ultra-long-range business jets worldwide. He began his career in South Africa and has since flown across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

He has been a Bombardier Global 7500 captain since 2020 and has flown as a freelance captain on the Gulfstream G700 and Global 7500 since 2023. Earlier long-term captain roles were on the Gulfstream G650 and the Global Express, Global 6000 and Global XRS. He is a former Line Check Airman on the Global Express and holds an Instructor Grade II rating.

In October 2026 he completed Global 7500 recurrent training with a PIC proficiency check and Global 8000 differences training at CAE.

Hours on type

Global Express / 6000: 3,585 hrs · Global 7500: 1,500 hrs · Gulfstream G650: 1,390 hrs · Gulfstream G700: 450 hrs · Global 8000: 40 hrs

Totals: 13,280 hrs total · 9,340 hrs jet PIC · 2,544 hrs jet SIC · 9,870 hrs multi-engine · 4,085 hrs night

Licences and training

  • FAA ATP and ICAO ATP (South Africa); ICAO helicopter licence; Bermuda validation

  • Instructor Grade II; former Line Check Airman (Global Express)

  • ICAO English Language Proficiency Level 6

  • CAE Global 7500 recurrent and PIC proficiency check (9 Oct 2026); CAE Global 8000 differences (11 Oct 2026)

  • International Procedures, CRM and Airborne Emergency, Aviation Security (Sep 2026); First Aid (Oct 2026)

  • Harvard Business School: Global Business, Disruptive Strategy; London School of Economics: Managerial Finance

Aircraft types flown and rated

Large-cabin jets: Gulfstream G700/G800, G650ER; Bombardier Global 7500 (Global 8000 differences), Global Express, Global 6000, Global XRS

Other jets: Bombardier CL604, CL65, CRJ200; Airbus A320-200; Learjet 24

Turboprop and helicopter: Dash 8-300, DC-3/DC-3 Turbine; Robinson R22/R44/R66, AS350 B1/B2/B3, Bell 206/206L/407, Enstrom

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