What role does Le Bourget play in the European business aviation market?
Michel de Ronne - It is traditionally said that Le Bourget is Europe's leading airport for business aviation, and the statistics only confirm this reputation. With almost 59,000 annual movements, Le Bourget accounts for almost half of France's business aviation activity, and we are well ahead of the 18,000 annual movements at Farnborough and Luton or the 12,000 movements at Geneva. We lead the way in terms of volume handled, but also in terms of the number of airlines using the site, with fourteen airlines currently based there.
Was 2005 a good year for the airport?
M. de R. - After a fairly sluggish start to the year, we saw a clear upturn from October onwards. Since then, every month we've seen growth rates close to 10 % compared with the previous year.
What are the development prospects for business aviation?
M. de R. - This is a sector that doesn't lend itself very well to forecasting. But if I am to believe what I saw in early May at the EBACE 2006 show in Geneva, where attendance was 40 % higher than in 2005, the outlook is very encouraging, and manufacturers are showing very full order books.
Private fleet, shared ownership... what formula is the development of business aviation based on?
M. de R. - It all began in the 1960s, when aircraft were owned by their users. Then came management companies and air taxi companies. But for the last ten years or so in the United States, and for the last seven and a half years in Europe, the growth of business aviation has been based on timeshare, with companies like Netjets, which is not far from being the leading operator at our airport. For the future, there is a lot of talk about private micro-jets or light-jets, which will sell for 2-2.5 million dollars, in a market where the first prices are still 5-6 million dollars.
In June, you will be inaugurating a new terminal. Why are you doing this?
M. de R. - This new terminal, which will be used by Flying Group and Aéro Services, will enable us to meet the needs of both our airline customers and our users: a clear, fluid building for quick access to boarding, with a number of additional facilities such as Wi-Fi, a 120 m2 conference room, the possibility of organising meetings on a 400 m2 terrace, and so on. At a later stage, we are considering the possibility of opening other terminals.
What are the next stages of development?
M. de R. - They revolve around three imperatives: concern for the environment, development of the platform and redevelopment of the buildings. At the end of the year, we will begin the development of 41 hectares of land, dedicated to aeronautical activities as well as related industrial activities.
Bio express
1947: Born in Créteil. Graduate of the École nationale d'aviation civile.
1980: Head of Air Traffic Studies and Environment Department - ADP.
1986: Head of ground handling at Orly airport.
1989: Head of ground handling at Roissy airport.
1996: Managing Director of Alyzia Airport Services.
2003: Director of Le Bourget airport and general aviation airfields.
