Just elected to the presidency of the Republic, François Hollande has highlighted the two sides of business aviation: its ability to connect small airports - Brive and Le Bourget in this case - quickly and without timetable constraints, but also its price. Faced with the beginnings of a controversy over the cost of leasing Falcon 900s, Dassault Aviation's flagship aircraft that are like flying offices, Wijet seized the opportunity to promote its attractive offer. The company, an aircraft taxi firm in France with a base at Le Bourget and which has just set up in Bordeaux, charges €2,200 an hour, or €550 for four passengers. In other words, a service close to the rates of a regular airline. With the added flexibility.
Business aviation can be an attractive option. Charterers and air taxi companies offer packages such as pre-purchased flight time cards. What's more, by leasing a business jet rather than buying one, a large number of companies can take advantage of private aviation services. "The company is guaranteed to have the right aircraft for every flight, without having to manage the fleet or the pilots. For less than 250 flight hours a year, it's a flexible solution, backed up by prepaid flight time programmes or cards".adds Romain Papy, Managing Director France of Air Partner.
However, despite its obvious potential, France remains an underdeveloped market for business aviation, with only 25 % of CAC 40 companies using it, compared with 70 % to 80 % across the Atlantic. This market is shared between various players, such as fully-fledged aviation companies like Dassault Falcon Service or Jet Services, aircraft leasing brokers like High Profile or Air Partner, one of the largest in Europe, or shared ownership specialists like NetJets. "Business aviation is far from the glamorous label that some people would like to attach to it. Travelling on a private jet for business people allows them to maximise their meetings, especially if they are in remote locations, and return to the point of departure at the end of the day".says Romain Papy.
