Who were Europe’s Winners and Losers in the private jet summer peak?

- As Europe’s summer season ends, PrivateFly reveals the airports, aircraft and business models that are bucking overall market decline -
With the economic downturn still making its presence felt in the private jet market, this year’s expected summer peak was an important period for the industry.
There was an overall small decline, but private jet booking service PrivateFly has highlighted the highs and lows – including UK market growth; the popularity of French destinations; demand for larger jets; and the advance of technology-based booking.

Adam Twidell, PrivateFly’s CEO comments as follows:
“Unlike the USA, which sees a more even year-round demand, Europe’s private aviation industry sees a big summer peak, generated by additional demand from the leisure market – travelling to summer hotspots, second homes or VIP lifestyle and sports events.
With the beaches emptying, we have taken a close look at the industry trends that shaped this summer, using data from industry intelligence provider WingX Advance.

LOSER: Overall market decline in Europe “This year’s summer peak was flatter than last year, with 4,000 fewer flights. June was just fractionally down, with 67,311 flights in total (0.9% lower than last year).
July was 2.7% down with 68,048 flights and August saw the biggest drop of 3.1%, with 61,831 flights. The industry overall is still waiting for a real recovery.

WINNER: New technology business models “While the picture is negative overall, increasing customer migration to online booking services saw these new business models gain market share.
At PrivateFly we saw a 200% year-on-year increase in our flight volumes during the June, July and August period and visits to our European websites and apps were up by 125%.

LOSER: German market hit by the crisis in the Ukraine “Of the top three European markets, Germany was the biggest loser this summer. It was harder hit than the UK and France by the crisis in Russia and the Ukraine, and saw a noticeable drop in flight volumes, most severely in August which saw a 9% decline.
“Obviously Ukraine and Russia saw the greatest dent made by the airport and airspace closures. Flights to and from the Ukraine were down by 56% and Russia by 18%.

WINNER: Growth in the UK, Greece, Portugal and other smaller markets “The UK was the only top three market to see growth over the summer, with a 5% year-on-year increase in demand for the June-August period.
“Amongst the smaller markets, growth was seen in private jet flights to Greece; Portugal; Sweden; Croatia; The Netherlands; Serbia; and Montenegro. At PrivateFly we certainly saw increased demand to key airports in these regions. Mykonos, Faro and Tivat were all popular destinations with our clients this year.

WINNER: French airports and routes were the most popular “When it comes to the most popular airports and routes, the focus was still on market leader France this summer. It had two of the top four busiest private jet airports in Europe – Paris Le Bourget at number one (41,000 flights June - August) and Nice Cote D’Azur at number three (27,000).
It also featured in all three top route pairings: Nice to Moscow; Olbia to Nice; and Nice to Olbia.

LOSER: Geneva airport had a very quiet summer “The repercussions from the Ukraine crisis were also felt at Geneva airport, which is one of the top five in Europe for private jets. Volumes were down all summer, with a 13% drop in peak month July, amounting to 98 fewer flights.

WINNER: Aircraft growth polarized at each end of the size spectrum “When it came to aircraft trends this summer, the David & Goliath split we’ve seen all year is continuing, with growth concentrated at each end of the size spectrum.
Ultra Long Range jets such as the Dassault Falcon 2000 saw a growth in demand compared to last summer, along with Very Light Jets such as the Citation Mustang and turboprop aircraft.
“In the current market, private jet customers are making a polarized buying decision: Keep costs down in a small jet or make a bigger impression in a big one.

LOSER: Mid-sized aircraft such as the Citation XLS lose share “The middle of the range saw the biggest challenges this summer – including Cessna’s Citation XLS jet family.
This aircraft still generated the biggest volumes of flights over the summer period – it has been the world’s most popular private jet for several years now – but it continues to lose share every month, and this summer was no exception”.