FLUG REVUE June 2002: Biz-jet charter market is in good health

BUSINESS CHARTER BUSINESS PROFITS FROM SAFETY FEARS

By Heiko Stolzke

Is it safe for our executives to continue to travel by air? Will our "favourite airline” still be in business next week? Such questions figured prominently in many boardroom discussions in the wake of the events of 11 September and the bankruptcy of Swissair. In the strained economic situation, no company could afford to forego business travel and the orders which depend on it. Against this background many companies suddenly discovered the new travel option of flying by business jet.

"We provide customers with a safe and flexible alternative to the airline,” says Roland Bücheler, spokesman for Jet Aviation. This company, which has bases in Zurich and West Palm Beach, operates a fleet of around 150 Citation, Challenger, Falcon and Gulfstream jets. In the meantime, however, the market has noticeably returned to normality. On top of that, the Swiss company has also profited in certain market segments from the unexpected demise of Swissair last autumn. "For companies with a high proportion of bookings in First Class, we have established ourselves as a good alternative,” reports Bücheler. "Those companies aren't interested in wrangling over scheduling, they want clear bids. And that is an area where of course we score well.”

A similar view of the market situation prevails at business operator Triple Alpha in Düsseldorf. "There was a brief but concentrated boom in September,” explains company spokesperson Katharina Pfeiffer. After that, business dropped back. "Uncertainty caused by the war in Afghanistan was definitely a factor,” Pfeiffer believes. But since then demand has picked up well, and utilisation of the company's fleet of Learjets, Citations and Merlins is extremely good.

André Averesch of MSR Flug-Charter from Münster is equally positive about the market situation. "After 11 September we won some new customers, but companies that we have been working with for some time have also been booking more heavily.” One of the main effects of 11 September, Averesch believes, has been the requirement for extra security. "In this area we have had to adapt our organisation, both at our home airport of Münster, and also in our flight scheduling.” However, in the last few months the market has completely calmed down, according to the Sales Manager of this operator of Citations and Cessnas. Averesch has not directly registered any "Swissair effect”. Rather, events in Switzerland have been one factor in the overall industry trend. "People are beginning to adjust their perceptions. We are seen less as an expensive luxury than in terms of being able to deliver planning reliability and savings potentials.”

At Citation operator Earlybirds Jet Charter of Hamburg, the events of 11 September had almost no effect on business. "There was a brief downturn, but then our customers quickly returned to their old travelling habits,” is how Andres de Castro describes sales developments. Another setback for the market, according to de Castro, is the general economic situation. "Of course we too are dependent on this to a certain extent,” he says.

In the German capital city of Berlin the volume of business flying has hardly changed since 11 September. "Everything is continuing as normal – we have not experienced any noticeable fluctuations,” says Dorothee Waggad of Windrose Air. This company operates several Citations out of Berlin Tempelhof and, as well as its core business in central Europe, has specialised particularly on connections to Poland and the former CIS states.

At DaimlerChrysler Aviation in Stuttgart, one of the biggest German operators, with a fleet of ACJs, Challengers and Learjets, they are more cautious about weighing up the situation. Nevertheless, a spokesman told us that the company continues to be on a stable growth course.

Geneva-based Privatair is another operator for which the situation has developed favourably since 11 September. "Our customers attach increased importance to security and discretion. We have profited from this,” explains Executive Vice President Dave Kinson. Privatair operates about 150 aircraft in Europe and the United States, from the King Air through to the luxury Boeing 757. The BBJ operator is also optimistic about future market trends. "A lot of companies have discovered the benefits business jets in the crisis and hopefully they will not want to do without them again.”

From page 36 of FLUG REVUE 6/2002

Last updated 2 May 2002

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