Data reveals another month of growth in Europe
Business aviation has enjoyed another month of growth in Europe, according to the latest figures from WingX.
The research firm says there were 61,837 flight departures during November – an increase of 6.1% year-on-year. This takes the year-to-date growth trend to 4.2%. The biggest growth came in Western Europe, with business aviation departures up “significantly” from the leading markets of the UK, Spain and Switzerland.
The smaller markets also grew during November. Greece, Belgium and Portugal grew by “well over” 15%, and flights from Poland and Croatia were up by a quarter year-on-year. And even though flights from Turkey were down 12% during the month, they are up by 6% year-to-date.
WingX identifies France as the busiest domestic market “by far”, with 7,000 flights – up 2% year-on-year. Flights from France to Germany were up by 11%, and flights from France to Spain were up by 31%.
The number of flights within the UK increased by 10% during November, while flights within Italy declined by 3%.
Strong growth in transatlantic connections led to more business aviation arrivals into Europe, while arrivals from the CIS region and the Middle East remained flat and arrivals from North Africa were down. Flights to Latin America declined by 5% year-on-year.
According to WingX, AOC activity was the main driver of growth last month, representing 47% of business aviation activity and up 10% year-on-year. Growth in AOC activity came mainly in the large cabin sectors, with ultra-long range and heavy jet flights increasing by almost 20%, and in older aircraft types such as the Challenger 600.
Increased AOC activity also led to “solid” growth at Le Bourget and Nice airports, as well as a 13% increase in departures from Geneva.
Charter activity grew by more than 8% during November, as it has done every month since the summer.
WingX data shows that light jet activity was up by 9% during November – and has increased every month this year – while midsize jets flew less year-on-year.
