Media coverage and the perception of business aviation has been the best it has ever been these past 12 months, highlighted GlobeAir CEO Bernhard Fragner, speaking on the EBACE Connect operators’ panel last week, moderated rather splendidly by EBAA’s Paul Walsh. When the airlines cut back and reduced their flying, we were there, he said, relentlessly repatriating people.
Alex Durand, CEO of SaxonAir agreed. We went from ‘rich baron’s barge’ to the great enabler and gained valued recognition for what we do.
“It is down to all of us to keep these new customers in our industry,” added VistaJet COO Ian Moore, highlighting the many lost city pairs that business aviation is well placed to pick up.
“Our business is always very seasonal and we would typically have a lull during the Easter period, but for the first time we we were busy all the way through,” noted Bernhard.
Light jet and medium sized jet sectors will be the main beneficiary over the next 12 months, we heard, being the most affordable for passengers switching from commercial flights. Ian Moore agreed that the light to medium jet sector was proving to be the most strong in the US too, offering a good opportunity for its subsidiary XOJet, which works alongside light jet operators. It may well add similar capacity of their own.
There was praise for the charter brokers too – who do a great job marketing our sector, which has got even more complex, said Alex Durand, dismissing suggestions that their role was diminishing in the ultimate quest for ‘one click’ bookings, via App. We all need to evolve, he said. “We must be focused on customer service because we are selling an aspirational experience.” Charter brokers do a terrific job here, having built close relationships with clients. Good brokers know it is not about the cheapest price A to B, but the whole package, he said.
Commenting on heightened regulatory burdens, bilateral block permits owing to the UK leaving the EU, Alex, who is also Deputy Chair of the BBGA said “honestly I don’t know how we got through it.” – but we did. Echoing the words of Derek Thomson at Air Charter Scotland earlier this month on the Quaynote Communications Brexit webinar, he highlighted everything was still masked by the pandemic, although this has given us some headroom to develop a workable permit system between UK and the 27 EU Member States.
When it comes to innovation, business aviation has showed its colours and we demonstrated resilience, he said – but warned that climate activists are always on our back. He sees the industry’s initiative in being the lead in the introduction of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in usable quantities and importantly, at an affordable price, as hugely important in addressing such concerns.
The panel agreed that further collaboration among operators is likely. Bernhard highlighted 70 operators flying 1,600/1,700 aircraft in Europe. Fragmentation is still an issue. One area they would all like to see is greater use of digitalisation in order to become more efficient. On matters like asset and crew positioning, fuel and FBO availability, we just aren’t digitalised enough at the level we need, said Alex Durand.
Answering a question about fleet renewal – “you read the easyJet annual report and decided a one fleet type was best,” quipped Paul Walsh, Bernhard Fragner replied that GlobeAir has indeed started looking at a second type – which could be introduced over two years, initially alongside the Mustangs.
“We have a very good relationship with other operators,” (including Air Charter Scotland and SaxonAir in the UK) so don’t feel the pressure to rush any decision,” he said. The panel noted they will certainly be more pressure to cut emissions and reduce empty leg positioning too. Increased digitalisation and AI will help us be more efficient, they agreed – knowing where assets and available crew are positioned. This will be valuable to FBOs too.
