Business aviation is set to recover from its downturn this year, according to a company that spends much of its time monitoring traffic at the London-area airports.
First Class Cars (Booth No. 792) achieved a 30-percent increase in its business aviation-related ground transportation operations during 2008 (with more than 9,000 separate trips) and is projecting a further 20 percent growth this year.
The UK company’s CEO, Graham Coate, said it has seen a 25-percent reduction in bookings from executive charter flights in recent months. However, he said that at the same time it actually achieved an increase in business from corporate flight department customers, and especially from U.S. operators. He predicted that charter traffic will recover during the course of this year as business people accept that, despite the imperative to reduce expenditure, they can’t do business efficiently without business aviation. In his view, the normally busy months of May, June and July will provide critical indicators as to whether demand levels are coming back.
