IS EUROPE SET FOR THE BIGGEST PRIVATE JET WEEKEND EVER?

With several European events coinciding this weekend, private jet demand may exceed pre-recession levels, says PrivateFly.com
Europe likely to see private flight numbers top 6,000 on Friday 24th May

With the Monaco Grand Prix, Champions League Final, French Open Tennis and Cannes Film Festival climax all taking place close to a UK Bank Holiday, Europe's private jets are set for unprecedented levels of demand this weekend, according to PrivateFly.com.

The private jet booking service is reporting a 300% increase in flight bookings compared to the same weekend last year, resulting from 8,200 searches on its website for European flights for this Friday to Monday*. The business says that Europe's business aviation industry as a whole can expect a significant uplift over the next few days, rivalling or exceeding pre-recession levels with an predicted 6,000 flights this Friday (24th May) alone.

Adam Twidell, CEO of PrivateFly.com, comments: "Global sporting and lifestyle events generate peak traffic flows for the private aviation industry every year, but this coming weekend in Europe sees an unusual combination of events that - together - are set to create unprecedented demand. This weekend may well nudge the industry back into an upward climb.

"As well as film and Formula One coinciding in the Cote d’Azur, London is hosting the Champions League final and the Roland Garros French Open Tennis is opening in Paris. These events attract large numbers of corporate and leisure travellers and it is also a peak weekend for luxury travellers and wealthy families, getting away for the UK Bank Holiday and half-term.

"The Monaco Grand Prix, Cannes Film Festival and French Open also overlapped last year and over 14,000 private jet flights took place across Europe from the Friday to the Monday, peaking at 4,862 flights on the Friday*.

"On the Cote D'Azur, Nice airport (open 24 hours and with three dedicated private jet terminals) is seeing the majority of the traffic, but Cannes Mandelieu, an exclusive private jet airport, is also at full capacity. With parking at a premium, many jets will have to drop and go, using smaller airports such as nearby Toulon, as overflow parking zones.

"Elsewhere, the UEFA Champions League final will see a surge in private jet traffic into London from Germany and across Europe. Paris Le Bourget, the busiest private jet airport in Europe, will be stacked with arrivals for the French Open, which begins on Sunday.

"At PrivateFly, our flight numbers for this weekend are three times higher than last year. We are expecting to continue booking flights right up to and over this peak weekend."

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Notes to editors:

*Sources: PrivateFly.com and WINGX Advance (www.wingx-advance.com)