GlobeAir's 2020 Wrapped

How did GlobeAir experience 2020?

2020 Wrapped: A yearly review by GlobeAir

With 2020 coming to an end, we are reflecting on what has happened at GlobeAir from the beginning of the pandemic, back in March 2020, to the latest lockdown announcements – with the third one just pronounced for the end of December 2020 and the beginning of January 2021 in Austria. In 2020, the world was shaken by an event that was bigger than anyone could have predicted. As the pandemic was disrupting almost every aspect of life as we knew it, significant achievements were registered in sciences and other vital industries.

Commercial aviation went from being a billion-dollar industry experiencing continuous growth to one in danger. As aviation's future seems likely to continue to be undermined in the months to come, business aviation and private jet charters have managed to survive the worst of the pandemic, emerging as one of the safest means of transport for travellers.

2020 was, for GlobeAir, a year of good numbers too. We have collected 10 of the most relevant facts which have characterised our past year, and we are happy to share them with you.

1. Repatriation flights

We have helped you reach your homes seamlessly

No other year has been marked by the need to fly our passengers to their homes or second homes like 2020. Since the pandemic has started, we have organised repatriation flights almost daily. One epic repatriation was when we helped a family fleeing the Seychelles – where they were vacationing - to come back to their German household. We have improved the flexibility of business aviation by consequently adapting and instructing our customer care team on how to handle new procedures and continuous disruptions given by the ever-changing country restrictions – despite them not being harmonised worldwide. We are proud to have therefore performed a total of 1,112 repatriation flights throughout 2020.

2. Dogs on board

We love welcoming your pets on board

We have had the pleasure to fly many of your beloved pets on our 2020 flights. Our onboard policies for pets make it very easy for passengers to fly with their cats and dogs, without any significant stress for your four-legged friends.

Over the course of 2020, we are proud to have boarded 820 dogs on our private jets. This makes for almost 10% of all our flights – thanks for trusting GlobeAir for your precious transfers!

3. Top 3 Airports for GlobeAir

Our favourite airports in Europe are...

Geneva, Paris Le Bourget and Nice have been our absolute top airports in 2020. We have great experience in operating our fleet of private jets around the French Riviera both for leisure and business trips.

As far as Geneva is concerned, the Swiss government has kept entry restrictions to the country more flexible than many other countries in Europe. We believe that this is why Geneva airport is GlobeAir's top airport in 2020.

• Geneva: 450 departures
• Paris: 443 departures
• Nice: 424 departures

4. Top City Pairs

GlobeAir's most flown city pairs in 2020

Consequently, our top city pairs in 2020 have been:

• Paris-Geneva
• Geneva-Nice
• Paris-Nice

5. Bookings Lead Time in 2020

A faster way to finalise your bookings

The past year has seen a significant shift in last-minute bookings – which is not surprising as restrictions and needs kept changing. Compared to an average booking lead time of 41 hours registered in 2019, 2020 recorded a 26.5 hour average instead.

6. A new type of first-time private jet traveller

Converters are those who have chosen business aviation over commercial airlines

Another interesting shift in traveller behaviour has seen frequent fliers choosing private jet charters over business class tickets. For safety reasons and motives which we believe can be traced to higher biosecurity, GlobeAir's new private jet travellers or the so-called "converters" represent 29% of our bookings in 2020.

7. How many times did you choose the safest side?

GlobeAir's last-minute cancellation insurance proved to be very demanded

Back in March 2020, we designed specific last-minute cancellation insurance given the high likelihood of flight cancellations. Either because of changes in country entry restrictions or sickness, our last-minute cancellation insurance has been regarded as a useful tool. You have purchased it 341 times since its introduction.

8. A lucky private jet card owner for the "One Million Jet Card" by GlobeAir

We have launched and sold the ultimate private jet card

Given the high interest in private jet cards to secure travels, we have introduced The One Million Jet Card. This is a unique private jet card which is valid for five years, and it opens up a countless array of advantages for the lucky Dutch entrepreneur who has secured it.

We are partnering with many luxury hotel names and ground transport partners and luxury experience providers to make sure your private jet card upgrades are always valuable. Our Fix&Flex private jet card programs are confirmed for the years to come, and you can expect new exciting additions to the benefits in 2021.

9. Top strategic decisions for crew in 2020

Our flexibility attitude unfolded for the safety of crew and passengers

Our crew has been courageously in the front line since the pandemic has started. However, on the operations side, we have had to reorganise the way we match our crew members. All changes have been made to minimise the risk of infection for pilots and passengers. 2020 has been characterised by challenges when it came to positioning crew and getting them from their homes to the airport.

The fact that restaurants and hotels have closed at different intervals all over Europe was and still is causing a fundamental challenge to our operations. GlobeAir is taking actions to counteract the situation by reducing working hours per pilot and adding new lunch breaks.

10. Zero lay-offs and additional crew

The bright side of the pandemic for GlobeAir's human resources

COVID-19 has caused a historic recession for the aviation industry. Every other day, we read headlines of commercial airlines who have to let go of many of their employees.

We, at GlobeAir, are very proud of our achievements and our team spirit throughout the pandemic. We have had zero COVID-19 dependent lay-offs and hired two additional crew members to make our crew team stronger.