Bizav Demand on the Rise in Europe

While July’s European business aviation activity was up 0.3 percent year-over-year, thus far 2015 is still lagging last year’s usage by 0.9 percent, according to statistics released yesterday by industry data provider WingX Advance.

The month saw a total of 81,081 departures across the region, with growth in all six of Europe’s largest markets: France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy and Switzerland, with an additional 1,700 flights from those countries year-over-year. Business aviation flights into Europe from the Middle East increased by 22 percent in July, while flights from Europe to North America rose by 8 percent.

“The recovery in demand for business aviation in Western Europe is getting more embedded, after a bad Q1,” noted WingX managing director Richard Koe. “For the Eurozone at least, the year-to-date trend in activity is now just about positive.” The Hamburg, Germany-based company reported flight decreases still stemming from the political dispute regarding Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine, with the Russian market down 24 percent year-over-year, while Ukraine was down 37 percent over the same span. “This has particularly sapped demand for heavy and midsize jets, particularly for charter flights,” said Koe.