According to the following article by El Confidencial, corporate and private aviation services have been living in Europe for some years. Spain is one of its most notable markets, with increases in the number of flight and hours, to or from national airports.
In the following infographic, WINGX data shows that Europe is the second most attractive market for the private jet sector, after the United States, with 2,879 registered aircraft.
Corporate and private aviation market
Numerous companies operate their aircraft for private or corporate services on several continents. Among them Netjets – one of the largest – or VistaJet, based in the island of Malta. The latter has activity in 187 countries, a fleet of 72 reactors and a helicopter available to large corporations, governments, businessmen and wealthy tourists.
70% of its customers are large companies that pay an annual fee with variable rates, and pay only for effective flight hours.
The remaining 30% is divided between government trips and millionaire tourists who rent a private jet for their vacations.
This company, like the rest of the sector, has benefited in recent years. The improvement of the economy and the increase in business activity led corporate aviation to gain relevance to first class flights.
For large corporations, the rental or even ownership of a private jet with its corresponding crew allows a significant saving in time and money, which makes a notable difference with respect to regular line aviation.
Being able to move up to twelve executives point to point is especially useful in those airports without regular passenger service or only reachable by means of stops, with the loss of hotel hours and nights and their corresponding costs.
On the other hand, private jets are usually equipped with internet services, telephony, etc., which is converted into small flying offices, in which travel time can be made profitable, for example, by maintaining a videoconference or sending documentation via e-mail.
Technology is also growing and platform markets enter in private aviation. PrivateFly and Victor are just some of the online private flight booking platforms, which allow you to search for flights, compare services and make a reservation.
The pilot profession in corporate aviation
According to the following report by Emeric Delalandre (2016) on the private aviation business in Europe, the main flights are made between the following cities:
1) Milan – Rome (130 flights / month, 1h)
2) Paris – Genoa (120 flights / month, 50 min)
3) Genoa – Nice (70 flights / month, 40 min)
4) Paris – Nice (67 flights / month, 1h20min)
5) Moscow – Nice (55 flights / month, 3h30min)
However, the destinations are as varied as the needs of the select customets of users. This constitutes a powerful incentive for the pilot who loves a certain component of adventure in his work, since the day flees from the monotonous “roaster” of the airlines to become something much more creative and unexpected while providing the opportunity to fly luxurious and sophisticated aircraft.
Flight, destination, and passenger or passengers are information that the pilot receives a few hours before starting the flight, with which a certain surprise component is assured. It goes without saying that discretion is a highly appreciated quality in the crews of this type of flights.
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