And that’s what I would like to stress: all those digital tools could never replace personal meetings and social interactions. but due to efficiency and cost pressures, many onsite meetings will be replaced by online tools. This trend will be sustainable and therefore business travel will no longer return to pre-Corona levels; it will permanently be less than before. The legacy airliners need to respond to this development and reduce their network.
On the other hand, I see a strong need for personal and high-quality onsite meetings. Global leaders of industry and business need to meet to develop deals and close deals to accelerate the much-needed economic recovery. C-levels, top executives and decision makers need to meet and therefore travel. Driven by the need for time efficiency and the need for biosecurity, these business trips will be predominantly made by low-cost private jets, not luxury ones. The lack of supply from the well-known providers of business travel in the EU, such as the Lufthansa Group, will reinforce this trend. In this respect, private aviation will be used by more companies and will not only be reserved for the CEO and Chairman, but also for other levels of management and executives. The light jet segment will certainly grow again, as it did in 2020. At GlobeAir, we expect additional business travel growth of +20% YoY mainly in Western Europe. I expect more activity in the European business capitals such as London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Vienna, Milan and Düsseldorf. The Eastern European capitals will, in my estimation, remain at their usual low level in terms of business travel.