We continue to hear about how the business aviation industry is turning around or is in a rebound cycle and that all of the nations that participate in the industry on on an upturn. The good news is that this is the beginning of something good for the business aviation industry as a whole. The bad news as indicated is that Europe is not rebounding as quickly as its peers in the world of business aviation. Worst yet, it appears that they are not on the faster track of recovery as others either, according to Brian Foley of Brian Foley Associates. There are many factors according to Foley including, high fuel prices, user fees, carbon taxes, airspace issues, new regulations and airport slot restrictions. Foley stated “When you factor in sustained economic weakness, a near-term robust market outlook just isn’t a reasonable expectation.”
This seems contrary to the numbers that indicate that Europe will account for approximately 20% of worldwide deliveries over the next 10 years. Foley goes on to state that he believes first-time aircraft buyers will be generated in Eastern Europe, while Western Europeans will be purchasing replacement aircraft. Foley stated that many will be buying on a budget instead of springing for more jet than they can afford. We hope that this is not the case but we also know that any recovery at this point is better than the downturn of the past.
We have heard the old saying that perception is reality and it appears that the perceptions of the public are what is being touted as the next need for change in the business aviation industry. In opening remarks at the EBACE event in Geneva Switzerland it was stated by Brian Humphries the EBAA chairman, “Recognition of our industry’s value is evident at the European level but not in the 27 member states.”
The NBAA was also represented by Ed Bolen, President of the organization when he stated, “It is incumbent on our industry to be aggressive in talking about how we operate.”
This seems to be the stance that is going to be taken by the industry going forward. First the economy was a major factor in the downturn and now that the industry has weathered the storm it appears that is must go on the offensive and show that as an industry we need to polish the image and be advocates and evangelists of the industry. Finally, Britain’s Lord Hesketh wanted to impart that without business aviation economies would not make it. “Companies that do not have the ability to move key personnel are going to fall behind.” He further said, “We do have to get the perception issue right.”
This is a new tact that may gather steam if we continue to hear reports of the economy recovering in the industry. It sees that by being aggressive in the perception of if the industry it will bound to help gather the steam in the right direction.
We continue to get good news from the industry and this is a trend at the EBACE event in Geneva, Switzerland. The latest in good news comes from VistaJet a Swiss business jet operator. The company announced today at the event that they have an order for 18 Bombardier business jets, which will bring its fleet to more than 50 aircraft.
It is reported that the order, valued at $383 million, includes 12 Globals and Challengers and six Learjet 60 XRs. Deliveries of the order should begin in 2012. The founder, owner and the chairman of VistaJet, Thomas Flohr, in a statement said his company’s current order backlog is valued at $1.3 billion. It is also reported that the company has on order currently, 10 Global 6000s, six Challenger 605s, 11 Learjet 85s and six Learjet 60 XRs. VistaJet operates a Bombardier-only fleet. Flohr stated out that 75% of the operator’s flights now originate from or go to “fast-growth markets,” such as Brazil, Russia, India, Nigeria, China and the Middle East. This shows in increase of 50% over this period four years previous.
Flohr stats that 2011 is “off to a good start,” he reported that 20101 saw a 25% increase in revenues over the previous year. Flohr revealed that approximately 20,000 passengers traveled aboard VistaJet aircraft last year. Flohr stated the company is “centered on [the passengers] actual requirements, rather than a perceived desire for abstract ownership.”
Embraer joins in the news at EBACE when it received an order today and announced at the event that Comlux has placed an order for three of the Embraer Lageacy 650’s with the possibility of increasing the order for 4 more of the aircraft. This marks the very first order for the Legacy 650’s from Embraer from this company. The company only has on hand at present aircraft from Airbus and from Bombardier. Embraer will deliver the first aircraft in December, with the remaining two Legacys to be handed over early next year.
Comlux Kazakhstan currently has four aircraft in its fleet which includes two Bombardier Challenger 605s and two Challenger 805s. The company’s COO, Irina Pay, reported that Comlux is located in a perfect place between Russia and China, which makes it a the best place for a charter operator of its kind. Comlux Kazakhstan also provides aircraft dispatch, ground handling and flight operations services.
I just returned from our nation’s capital in Washington DC. I was recently attending the Points of Light Institutes’s Tribute for President George HW Bush and landing at Dulles I noticed the lack of many corporate jets. It seems that the economy makes it difficult to find the leaders of the country using private business aircraft. It may be the location that I landed or it may be that they are all traveling in other places or it could be that corporate jets are not welcome in that part of the world.
We all of course remember the tongue lashing the leadership of the car makers received when they took their private business aircraft to the capital when they were asking for the bailouts they received when the economy headed down. It may be that corporate jets are still a black mark or not well received. The National Business Aviation Association continues to combat these types of thoughts. It would be interesting to see if the trend continues or if we will see more private jets at airports in and around our nation’s capital.
There did seem to be no shortage of private helicopters flying in and around the city. I think it may be related to the way the traffic patterns are in the DC. I for one would have loved not to be caught in traffic on the highways and in the city.
It was only a few years ago that Embraer was a minor player in the corporate jet industry with only a 3 percent share. It is making great strides recently in the business aviation industry having gained that number to nearly 20%. The company that is based in Brazil is taking the line of mid-size jets it manufactures in the Legacy 450 and 500 jets, the Phenom light jets and the Legacy 650 jets, Lineage 1000 jets to new levels that they hope will help them gain their goal of a 30% share of the business jet market.
Recently, the company opened a new final assembly facility in Melbourne, Florida, and the CEO of the company, Fred Curado indicated that he was very happy with the manufacturer’s position in the industry of business jets. In fact, he recently revealed that he hopes to expand further.
“I do see Embraer one day venturing into the ultra-long-range, large-cabin business jet segment,”he told AIN in an interview. He stated in that recorded interview, their line would compete “with the [Bombardier] Globals and the larger [Dassault] Falcons,” he said.
These are good signs of growth for the industry and it will be interesting to see if Embraer expands to the levels it seeks in the business aviation industry.
First of all, we here at Corporate Jet Insider and L&L International would like to say we are sending all our best wishes and thoughts to all the people having difficulties in the middle east no matter where you may be and we hope that everyone remains safe. The recent event sin the middle east have had sweeping effects on many industries and certainly have not missed business aviation.
We have been hearing good things from the business aviation world in the middle east as orders have been remaining steady and in some cases have increased n the middle east. Where the difficulties are now being seen is in the problems with oil prices. Oil is now over 100 dollars a barrel and this is having the same effects as it is for auto industry and the costs of goods. Jet fuel prices as also jumping and this is trickling down to the use of corporate travel and the use of business jets. We will be watching the industry and see how this may change in the short and long term. Our thoughts as stated are that we can overcome the middle east problems to make for a more stable business aviation industry.
There are many ways that you can speak to us here at the Corporate Jet Insider. We at Corporate Jet insider are one way of contacting our corporate offices at L&L International too. We can be contacted most easily by calling us or contacting us on the contact page. We can also be contacted using the blog here by leaving a comment in any of the blog posts as though go right to our inbox. I also spoke earlier about our Facebook page and how it can be used to contact us and to interact with our company.
I also wanted to talk about Twitter. If you follow us over at Twitter, we will follow you back so that we may interact that way. As you may or may not know if two parties follow each other on Twitter, they can then sent direct messages to each other. We would be happy to take your direct message and make sure it gets into the hands of those that need to respond. That works as well with our live chat feature on the corporate site. Finally, if you want to sign up to receive the company newsletter and email, you can do that on our regular corporate site. Signing up with our email can get you company information and other industry news and information and the world of business aviation. Talk to us!
photo via derrickkwa
They say if you continue to report good news that good news is bound to happen. This is not more apparent that in the world of business aviation or in the world of corporate jets. We are continuing to see reports of better news and of good numbers and of signs that the bad slide of the economic indicators in our industry. The recession has hit everyone in our industry and we are looking for the light at the end of the tunnel and recent news from JetNet, a corporate aviation and information analyst, give us that same upbeat opinion. These numbers were reported last month and give a good picture of the recovery. They report a better 2011 ahead and are also reporting that pre-owned jet sales will be stronger. It was reported by AIN:
“Pre-owned full-sale business jet transactions for 2010 were up by 16 percent, compared with 2009, and exceeded the 2008 transaction level by 4.8 percent. One reason for increased pre-owned sales can be found in a continuing decline in pricing, ranging from 1.5 percent lower for piston helicopters to 18.5 percent down for business jets versus 2009. According to the report, the percentage of jets for sale dropped for 16 months before the end of last year, from 17.7 percent to 14.8 percent. “So we still remain in a buyer’s market,” the report concluded. “A seller’s market is when 10 percent or less of the pre-owned inventory is for sale.” The percentage of turboprop business aircraft for sale as of December 31 was 10.5 percent, down from a peak of 12 percent set in May/June 2009. The percentage of turbine helicopters for sale (excluding Russian civil helicopters) was 7 percent, 0.1 percent higher than at the same point in 2009. A buyer’s market in the helicopter world is when the percentage of helicopters for sale exceeds 5 percent of the fleet. The report also noted the average number of days that a pre-owned business aircraft remained on the market in 2010 was 323 days–64 days more than in 2009.”
This report is good news for us in the pre-owned jet sales market, in spite of the report that we are in a buyer’s market. Any market uptake at this time and in this current economy can make it a better situation for the entire industry.
We have been working diligently over here at Corporate Jet Insider to make our online presence more dynamic and we are using Facebook to help us with that new experience You can join us on Facebook to get some of our blog postings here and get a chance to see some of our inventory and we will be interacting there as well as here in the corporate blog.
We have updated Facebook to the brand new update that they began last week. We can now interact with our followers by commenting on your Facebook page or talking with you directly as a corporate jet insider or as the L&L International company. If you have questions about our company or if you have questions or comments about our company blog, you can interact with us there on the Facebook page as well.
Finally, if you want to learn more about our company or if you want someone to contact you to get your own personal agent to help you with buying or selling or leasing a corporate jet or business jet, you can ask for assistance on the Facebook page and we will be happy to contact you via that medium. At L&L International we are doing all we can to make your business aviation experience the best it can be.
