Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group.&nbsp;He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion,&nbsp;the&nbsp;student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot&nbsp;magazine, he joined&nbsp;AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.

Online Editor

Chad Trautvetter

Business aviation activity in Europe started off this year on bad footing, with departures falling 4.5 percent year-over-year last month, to 47,628, according to data released today by WingX Advance. Flights of business jets and pistons were each down 5 percent from a year ago, while turboprop flights declined 1.5 percent.

 


Last month’s decline mainly came in Western Europe—especially in France, Italy and Spain—which accounted for about one-third of the total 2,220 fewer departures in the entire region from a year ago. Activity in Southern Europe weakened by 8 percent last month and flights from Europe to the CIS region slid 14 percent.

 


A bright spot was business aviation flights into Europe from North America, which climbed 8 percent last month. Flights from the Middle East were down 5 percent and flights to Africa slumped 27 percent. Private flights between Europe’s busiest city pair, Paris (Le Bourget Airport) and Geneva, was up 8 percent.

 


“This disappointing start to 2016 breaks the recovering trend in last year’s fourth quarter,” said WingX managing director Richard Koe. “Undoubtedly the fall-off in demand is linked to the abrupt deterioration in the wider economy. Overall, we should hope that the bad start to the year is a blip, as were the first couple of months of 2015.”

Bizav Flying in Europe Gets Off To Bad Start in 2016

Flights of business jets and pistons were each down 5 percent from a year ago, while turboprops declined 1.5 percent.

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