Change of Ownership at MOUNTAIN FLYERS 80 LTD
Mountainflyers has a new owner: previous owner and majority shareholder Christoph Graf sells his shares to Tobias Zumsteg.
Effective April 9, 2025, the Bern-based helicopter company will come under new ownership. Christoph Graf (49), who has been with the company for 20 years and has led it since 2010 as owner, CEO, active pilot, and flight instructor, is handing over MOUNTAIN FLYERS 80 LTD to
Tobias Zumsteg (42).
Christoph Graf: «I am very pleased to have found a highly qualified successor in Tobias Zumsteg, who will continue our vision of a highly professional and innovative helicopter company in BernBelp and Grenchen.» Christoph Graf describes the past 20 years, during which MOUNTAIN FLYERS 80 LTD has been on a steady climb, as very successful and intense. Now, he says, it is time for him to hand over the cockpit of the company and begin a new chapter in his flight logbook. Christoph Graf will hand over the operational management of Mountainflyers to Tobias Zumsteg during the year. He will remain with the company as an advisor, pilot, and flight instructor.
Tobias Zumsteg sees the takeover and future operational management of MOUNTAIN FLYERS 80 LTD as an exciting and meaningful challenge. He has been active in aviation since his youth. At 16, he obtained his parachuting license and shortly thereafter became a member of the Swiss national formation skydiving team. As a professional skydiver, he competed internationally for both the national team and the Swiss Army (CISM Swiss Skydive). In addition, he managed the operations of Skydive Grenchen for three years alongside his professional career. In 2007, he earned his paragliding license, in 2012 he flew with Mountainflyers for the first time in a Robinson R22, and in 2016 he obtained his private pilot license, followed by a commercial pilot license in 2020 and flight instructor license in 2021. Tobias Zumsteg holds a degree in business administration and worked for 20 years at Zurich private bank Julius Baer, 15 of those in various leadership roles.
MOUNTAIN FLYERS 80 LTD was founded in 1980 by Bernese REGA pilot Ueli Soltermann. The company specializes in basic and advanced helicopter pilot training across all license levels, as well as in scenic and transport flights. The team consists of 32 permanent and freelance staff based in Bern-Belp and Grenchen. The fleet includes 14 helicopters and two EASA-certified virtual reality simulators (R22/AS350B3e) for ground training.