COMMERCIAL BUSINESS AVIATION
showed a four per cent
increase in the number of business aircraft
hours flown globally,
higher than the 2.9 per
cent GDP estimates by
the International Monetary Fund.
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Business aviation flight activity worldwide grew faster than the global gross domestic
product (GDP), and for the first time since 2008,
deliveries of business jets were higher than the
previous year. In Europe, flight activity was down
slightly (two per cent) overall in 2013; however,
there are signs of promise – after three consecutive monthly increases, activity in the first
quarter edged up by 1.6 per cent from the same
period a year ago. Jet Support Services Inc’s
(JSSI) annual year-end business aviation index
www.sps-aviation.com
By region, the JSSI analysis showed a 25 per cent
jump in traffic in the Middle
East and Africa, 22 per cent
in Asia, and 12 per cent in
Europe. The world’s largest bizjet market, the United
States, grew by about six per
cent, which some attribute to
anti-bizav rhetoric in recent
years. Latin America was flat.
Neil Book, JSSI President and
CEO, said, “The global growth
in flight hours is a positive
indicator for the health of
both the aviation industry
and the economy as a whole.”
Growth rates by aircraft
category were similar: small
cabin eight per cent, medium
cabin five per cent, and large
cabin seven per cent. The General Aviation Manufacturers
Association said its members
delivered 678 business jets in
2013, six jets more than 2012.
Hamburg-based aviation
data firm WingX Advance
said business aviation flying jumped 22 per cent in
March 2014 compared with
the previous year to nearly
53,000 flights. WingX said the
increase was due both to private flight activity, up eight per
cent (particularly business piston aircraft, which rose 28 per
cent. For the still-struggling
business jet fleet, activity was
down 1.1 per cent and charter
activity down 3.9 per cent.
Business aircraft flights
rose in the UK, Italy and
France, but declined in Germany, Turkey and Russia. For
2013, the bright spots included
Spain, Ukraine and the Benelux
countries. There was increased
activity in flights headed to
Europe from North America,
the Middle East and Asia.
Roger
Whyte,
former
senior executive with Cessna
Aircraft for
nearly
30
years and
now Chairman of the
Central European Private
Aviation Association, told SP’s
Aviation that “CEPA countries
have outperformed those of
the non-CEPA regions” since
2008, “whereas most other
markets in Europe are still to
recover.” He cited Hungary,
Slovenia, Slovakia, the Czech
Republic, Poland, Bulgaria,
Romania and even Ukraine as
having increased activity (at
least before the current political turmoil).
“The Central and Eastern
European (CEE) market is
developing well, even though
all of its countries were hit
by recession, causing a slowdown in the rate of development. The difference with
these countries, compared
to those in the west, is that
they were better equipped to
deal with recession and the
change in the economy as
their growth had previously
been comparatively slower.
The whole economy is now
recovering and developing.”
GROWTH SIGNS
“The business aviation market in Europe is now growing
again,” PrivateFly CEO Adam
Twidell told SP’s Aviation.
“This growth is modest, but
there are much more confident signs, a