Flight International - 22 May 2018

32 | Flight International | 22–28 May 2018 flightglobal.com

BUSINESS AVIATION

Special report

❯❯ pool of potential customers,” says the
company’s director for market analytics and
customer insight, Thomas Fissellier.
This “pool” includes the growing popula-
tion of ultra-high-net-worth individuals. He
points to recent research by wealth informa-
tion services company Wealth-X, which re-
cords a 9% hike in the number of Europe-
based billionaires between 2016 and 2017 to
650 – with the UK, France and Germany
home to the largest concentrations.
“We are seeing a pretty nice increase in
order activity this year, and expect that mo-
mentum to continue,” says Fissellier.

SALES BOOST
Bombardier’s most popular model in Europe
is the Challenger 300/350, followed closely
by the Global 6000. “There is a healthy appe-
tite for aircraft with large cabins and long
ranges,” says Fissellier, adding that he ex-
pects the 7,700nm (14,200km)-range Global
7000 to be “very popular”, when it enters ser-
vice in the second half of 2018.

Bombardier’s ultra-long-range flagship is
one of a host of new designs entering the mar-
ket over the next few years, which EBAA
chief operating officer Robert Baltus believes
will help stimulate buyer interest.
Europe is not short of new product. Pilatus
Aircraft’s PC-24 superlight business jet will
enter service in Europe in the coming weeks,
and Gulfstream’s super-large G500 and G600
are expected to follow later in 2018 and in
2019, respectively. From Textron Aviation,

the super-midsize Cessna Citation Longitude

will arrive late this year; its Denali single-en-

gined turboprop is due in 2020. By 2023,

Dassault’s recently launched wide-cabin,

long-range Falcon 6X should be gracing Eu-

rope’s skies. “Innovation is the key,” says

Baltus. “Customers want their aircraft to be

an extension of their home and office, and

these technologically advanced cabins do all

that and more.”

Textron Aviation’s vice-president of sales

for Europe, Tom Perry, says that while the

Longitude has only performed a handful of

demonstration flights on the continent so far,

the reception for the 10-seat business jet has

been “fantastic”.

He describes Europe as Textron Aviation’s

“second-strongest market” for its Citation jet

family, noting that the company completed “a

great first quarter” for new orders. For the

Beechcraft King Air and Cessna Caravan tur-

boprop series, Europe ranks fourth for new

050 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Czech Republic

Spain

Italy

Turkey

Switzerland

Austria

France

Russia

UK

Germany

Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer (April 2018)

Note: information for base location of business jets

Europe's top 10 countries by business jet fleet size

aircraft sales and deliveries. Perry says the

continent has taken “relatively few” commer-

cial turboprop deliveries in recent years, but

orders for its special mission variants have

been strong. Perry points to a 2017 order from

Norway’s Babcock Scandinavian Air Ambu-

lance for 10 King Air 250s and a single Lati-

tude jet. Deliveries are scheduled to begin this

year.

GOOD PROSPECTS

While European business aviation continues

to recover and evolve, EBAA’s focus is to cre-

ate a thriving market and an unfettered oper-

ating environment for its 750-plus members

and supporters. Baltus believes the “true

value” of the industry is not recognised by

many regulators and key decision-makers, so

the needs of the community are often over-

looked. He says an EBAA-sponsored study by

Booz Allen Hamilton and the German aero-

space research centre DLR is helping to

change perceptions and bolster its profile.

The report, published in March, presents

business aviation as a bulwark of Europe’s

economy, supporting 374,000 jobs and con-

tributing €32 billion ($40 billion) – or just

under 0.2% – of the total value of goods and

services produced in the region each year.

This influence is becoming more impor-

tant. Baltus notes that the latest report follows

a similar survey in 2016 of the 28 EU coun-

tries plus the Channel Islands, Iceland, the

Isle of Man, Monaco, Norway, San Marino

and Switzerland, which concluded business

aviation was behind 371,000 jobs and boosted

the continent’s economy by €27 billion.

The report also claims business aviation

vastly improves connectivity within Europe,

serving more than 25,000 city or area pairs

not linked by direct airline flights – or almost

Global 6000 helps drive Bombardier sales in Europe, which takes a quarter of its deliveries

“Customers want their

aircraft to be an extension

of their home and office”

Robert Baltus
Chief operating officer, European Business Aviation
Association

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