Archive for the 'Aviation Industry' Category

Private jets and the economic crisis

Published
by
admin
 on 07/07/2010
 in Aviation Industry and General Information
. 0 Comments

In the last months and weeks there have been worldwide reports in the media about the economic and financial crisis. Large and well-known companies were facing bankruptcy, lately even entire countries are threatened with bankruptcy. Apart from Greece, Spain, Portugal and England, many other countries are struggling with their enormous national debts. Even if the end of the crisis is announced lately - many people fear that the crisis is not over yet!

How is privatejet industry been affected by the economic and financial crisis? Some aircraft manufacturers such as Eclipse have been hit by the crisis so hard that they went bankrupt, others such as Cessna laid large development projects on ice. In general, the travel budget for business and for private flights has been reduced. Even high net worth individuals less often used privatejets for transatlantic travel and flew first class instead. Also the demand for so called “Emptylegs” has increased.

It is still unclear how the aviation industry will develop in the future. Grand visions and projects such as the Very Light Jets (VLJs) for Europe and the U.S. are now seen much more pessimistic. Some market participants fear that it could take up to ten years to again reach the pre-crisis level (Source: Manager Magazin). A major risk factor in the future could be the price of oil - it makes flying in general and also traveling by privatejets significantly more expensive. The oil spill from BP in the Gulf of Mexico is therefore not only be disastrous for the environment. In consequence of a rising oil price, it could have an great impact on the global aviation industry in the coming years!

That`s why many competitors of Tigercharter look anxiously into the future. The company Jetbird went out of money even before its official launch. Since Tigercharter has a very strict cost management and does not own any expensive aircraft fleet, we will be able to further develop our market share. As a global independent broker of aircraft charter, we will find you the best deal in our network of partners - now - and in the future!

We would be happy to send you a free quote for your desired flight. Please use our contact form.

BBGA Response: Private jet protest

Published
by
tigercharter
 on 06/10/2009
 in Aviation Industry
. 0 Comments

The following statement will give you some information about the Aviation Industry and it`s importance for employment and economy in general. Also the aspect of global emissions - especially from private jets - is very interesting:

The British Business & General Aviation Association (BBGA) strongly condemns the misguided, politically-driven, disruption by a small number of Plane Stupid activists at London City Airport this morning.

Business Aviation comprises about 8% of Air Traffic in Europe, and it directly contributes some £3.5 Billion to the UK economy, through the employment of some 50,000 people in the United Kingdom engaged in the manufacturing, maintenance and operation of Business Aircraft. Those aircraft are used by a variety of individuals and companies as a tool to improve their performance: Studies have shown that companies with access to business aviation perform around 10 % better than those without.

This efficiency delta results from the five key benefits of Business Aviation: Flexibility and Convenience; Time Savings; Cost Savings; Deal Facilitation and Safety and Security. Businesses constrained to using commercial aviation only are also constraining their staff from attaining optimum efficiency as they wait in check-in queues and obey all the restrictions placed on them by airlines.

Aviation in total contributes about 2% of global emissions. Business Aviation is responsible for less than 1% of that 2%. To put that into perspective, in the United Kingdom that is equivalent to each of us with a car driving just twelve miles in a year. I would ask the Plane Stupid people which they think would have a greater economic impact to the UK – each of us driving 12 miles less per year, or abolishing Business Aviation?

In a sustainable economy it is clear that Business Aviation is far more environmentally efficient than other forms of transport in terms of value-added per unit of emissions, and it is obtaining the highest possible ratio of economic benefit to quantified emissions that is key. Prudent use of Business Aviation, in combination with an infrastructure of other alternative travel modes, is a boost to the UK and European economies which should be encouraged rather than attacked. Businesses forced to compromise on this critical issue by insufficient access to Business Aviation in the UK will not equivocate; they will relocate to a region or country better served by access to Business Aviation – to the detriment of our economy. Just as BBGA believes that Business Aviation is disproportionately valuable for the economy, it follows that it should be disproportionately advantaged compared to activities which have little or no economic value – such as the twelve annual car miles I mentioned earlier.

BBGA would be keen to establish a dialogue with Plane Stupid to address the serious issue of transportation CO2 emissions, but like many other pressure groups seeking to make a point irrespective of the facts, they seem more interested in attention-seeking than engaging in meaningful discussion. Until we have this dialogue, their activities can only be regarded as a dangerous disruption of other people’s legal and economically-valuable activity.

British Business & General Aviation Association

U.S. - Aircraft Security Program

Published
by
tigercharter
 on 01/12/2009
 in Aviation Industry
. 1 Comment

The Department of Homeland Security is proposing to extend to private aviation many of the security rules imposed on commercial airlines. Operators of international private-plane flights to and from the U.S. would be required to electronically provide full lists of passengers and crew one hour before departure. There also would be some limits on what people can take on board.

The proposal could affect air operators, but also fractional jet ownership companies of any airplane weighing more than 12,500 pound - nearly all of the jets will be over this limit. The meeting at Westchester County Airport was the first of five scheduled nationwide. More than a hundred aircraft owners argued that the proposed rule will have a major impact on general aviation. Also the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) the lobbying group for the private jet industry says the rules are “overly broad,” expensive and cumbersome.

 

The requirements will hit especially smaller airports, which do not have the funds to match the large airport security protocols. This adds cost and bureaucracy, but the new proposals will not significant enhance security. As the world is facing the most dangerous financial climate since the great depression, is this the time to harm an industry which  already has suffered that much?

 
More information at:  http://www.nbaa.org/news/pr/2009/20090106-001.php

VLJS – Very light jets

Published
by
tigercharter
 on 01/07/2009
 in Aviation Industry and Private Jets
. 0 Comments

A small jet aircraft seating 4-8 people, approved for single-pilot operation. Compared to earlier prices, this new kind of very light jet, VLJ or microjet will be so cheap, that it’s affordable to a much wider range of clients.

VLJS - Aircraft facts

VLJs will come equipped with high-tech safety and navigation equipment, which will allow them to fly into small airports – also if the weather conditions aren`t very good.. Unlike turboprops, which cruise below 30,000 feet (9,000 meters), VLJs cruise between 30,000 and 40,000 feet (9,000 and 12,000 meters) at around 430 mph. As flight times are usually very short, some of those VLJs aircrafts don`t have toilets. 

  • Crew: one or two pilots
  • Capacity: four to six passengers, depending on cabin configuration
  • Cruising speed: 370 knots (425 mph, 685 km/h)
  • Empty weight: around 3550 lb to 5,550 lb (1,600 kg to 2,500 kg)
  • Useful load: around 2,400 lb (1,050 kg)
  • Range: around 1,295 mi (2,050 km)
  • Takeoff distance: between 2,155 ft and 3,150 ft (650 m – 950 m)
  • Landing distance: between 2,050 ft and 2,380 ft (620 m – 730 m)
VLJS - Advantages

The very light jet or VLJ will be much cheaper, than private jets before. That`s why private aircraft charter will be affordable to a much wider range of clients in the future. Even if you can’t afford a private jet, you might soon be able to make a business trip on one. VLJs can land on runways as short as 3,000 feet (900 meters), which will allow them to fly into small airport closer to your wanted destination. Even at major airports, private planes are handled separately. They have a special terminal and professional customer service. Depending on your flight, private aviation can be available within a few hours of your phone call.

VLJS - The market

From the beginning, the cost of acquisition and ongoing operational costs were considered in the design of the plane. Therefore the new very light jets are directly competing with high-end piston and turboprop aircraft. The private jet aircraft market has experienced for last couple of years an remarkable growth. In 2008 Sales of business jets were exspected to hit an alltime record. Unfortunately this growth has been stopped by the financial crisis, which became visible in September 2008.  

VLJS - Industrie

About a dozen companies are developing VLJs. New aircraft prices vary from $1.5 million to around $3 million for some seven-to eight-passenger VLJs. Cessna Aircraft Company, delivered the first ever production VLJ, the six-seater Citation Mustang in November 2006. Adam Aircraft announced that they had an order of around 300 jets. Because of financial problems, Adam Aircraft ceased operations in the beginning of 2008 and had to declare bankruptcy. The Eclipse 500 produced by Eclipse Aviation was the second of a new class of Very Light Jets (VLJ). On 19 September 2008 Eclipse’s largest customer, DayJet, representing 1430 orders for the Eclipse 500, ceased flying operations for financial reasons and indicated that a return to flying was “unlikely”. Production of the Eclipse 500 was halted in mid-2008 due to lack of funding and the company entered bankruptcy on 25 November 2008.

VLJS - Future

The financial crisis beginning with failures of large financial institutions in the United States, has rapidly evolved into a global crisis resulting in a number of company failures and declines in various stock indexes. This also had a big impact on the aviation industry.  The low-cost very light jet (VLJ) industry fell short of expectations in 2008 and also 2009 will be a very tough year. Because of the worlwide recession, the demand for very light jets will slow down.

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