Will ad hoc private jet charter see a boost?
Researchers and macroeconomics experts expect the global economy to gradually recover as vaccination coverage progresses. Accordingly, this will also mean more business travel activity. In 2020 managers have learned to use digital tools as a substitute for face-to-face meetings in a more and more meaningful and efficient way as travelling was not possible. Personal meetings can never provide the same environment and emotional interaction as those digital tools, but due to efficiency and cost pressures, many of the onsite meetings will be replaced by the tools mentioned. This trend will be sustainable and therefore business travel will no longer lead to pre-Corona levels and will be permanently less. The legacy airliners need to respond to this development and reduce their network. On the other hand there will be a strong need for personal and high-quality meetings on premise. 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 bio-security, these business trips will be predominantly made by entry level private jets, away from luxury. The lack of supply from the well-known providers of business travel in the EU 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. Business aviation insiders expect more activity in the European business capitals such as London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Vienna, Milan and Düsseldorf while Eastern European capitals will remain at their usual low level in terms of business travel.