Private flights could increase by 18% during the London Olympics
New research from Hawker Beechcraft reveals that private flights increase by an average of 18% during major sporting events taking place in Europe.
New research from Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) reveals that during the most recent major sporting events to take place in Europe – the Euro 2012, Euro 2008 and World Cup 2006 football tournaments – the number of daily private flights into the host countries increased by an average of 18 per cent.
If there is a similar increase at the London Olympics, there could be as many as 189 private flights into the UK capital every day during the event, compared to an average of 169 over the same period last year. Much of this increase could be fuelled by corporate hospitality.
Also, further research from HBC reveals that the super-prime residential London property market is gearing up for an influx of high-net worth and ultra-high net individuals during the Games. As of 18th July there were more than 100 properties in the Capital being advertised for short-term lets of £30,000 a month or more. Approximately a third of these were specifically advertised as Olympic lets, and around one in six were available for between July and September. The average weekly rent for those advertised as Olympic lets was £15,113.51, compared to £13,205.88 for those not targeting the Games or the period July to September.
| London short-term let with a monthly rent of £30,000 or more | Number of properties | Average weekly rent |
| Advertised as Olympic Let | 37 | £15,113.51 |
| Advertised for the period July to September | 19 | £15,953.33 |
| Not advertised as Olympic let or for between July & September | 53 | £13,205.88 |
Sean McGeough, HBC president, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “The London Olympics will be the biggest sporting event of the year and people from all over the world will be flying in to enjoy the occasion. This will be great news for the London and UK economies, including people benefiting from renting out their properties during this time.”
In terms of where the the private flights into London currently come from, analysis by HBC reveals that the eight business airports serving the capital saw a total of 30,185 flights during the first half of this year – 47% of which were from other parts of the UK. However, the remainder has been dominated by countries in the Eurozone, with France, Switzerland and Germany the most popular points of departure.
| Country | Estimated number of private flights into London between January and June 2012 | Estimated percentage of all private flights into London during this period |
| UK | 14,277 | 47.3% |
| France | 3,924 | 13.0% |
| Switzerland | 2,143 | 7.1% |
| Germany | 1,781 | 5.9% |
| Spain | 1,207 | 4.0% |
| Italy | 996 | 3.3% |
| Ireland | 996 | 3.3% |
| USA | 936 | 3.1% |
| Netherlands | 604 | 2.0% |
| Belgium and Luxembourg | 543 | 1.8% |
HBC recently announced the appointment of Harrods Aviation and GAMA Support Services to strengthen its worldwide network of limited service centres, as well as the deployment of a Quick Response Team (QRT) to ensure that customers visiting the UK during the Olympics will be provided with the highest level of support throughout the duration of the Games.
