European bizav growth falters
Business aviation growth in Europe is down sharply on last year’s numbers, according to the latest traffic figures from Eurocontrol, suggesting that the ec

Business aviation growth in Europe is down sharply on last year’s numbers, according to the latest traffic figures from Eurocontrol, suggesting that the economic slowdown has started to make people think twice before chartering a business aircraft. However, the trend toward outsourcing manufacturing to Eastern Europe and beyond, continued demand from Russia and the Middle East, and even the emergence of low-cost air taxis at the lower end of the market should enable business aviation to experience positive growth this year.

According to Eurocontrol, “Business aviation traffic growth in 2007 was about 10 percent. In the first six months of 2008, the average growth was 2 percent, and in July it was 1 percent lower than the growth in July 2007.”