More on European Air Taxi Operators

A Flight International article has a great update highlighting some of the more than 16 different European air taxis operators who are flying now or plan on doing so by 2010. In an informative article entitled "Will the emergence of VLJs as air taxis transform air travel?" authored by Kate Sarsfield, it is clear that the European air taxi marketplace is far from being defined and in that way will be the similar to the US market: a wide variety of models and aircraft (at least initially). The article contains discussions about Blink, Bikkair, JetBird, Taxijet, AccelJet and Air Cab.

One of the most interesting statistics comes from Iceland's AccelJet which claims "that charter movements at the capital's airport in Reykjavik have grown by 4,000% since 2003, from 116 to 4,600 movements a year. There is a huge demand for business aircraft services within Iceland - serving remote locations - and from Iceland to other European destinations."
The article also includes the chart below setting forth the operators, their geographic locations and the proposed aircraft.

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European Update - Blink and Jetbird

It has been a while since I have discussed the status of European operators, but an article in Time magazine recently highlighted the efforts of both Blink and Jetbird. The article entitled "Private Jets: Air Pressure" discussed again the projections about the number of vljs operating in Europe in the future and how that might impact airspace traffic and congestion - especially at the higher altitudes where fuel efficiency is the greatest.

Blink, which will be flying the Cessna Citation Mustang, and Jetbird, which has chosen the Phenom 100, are both discussed in the article. Based in Dublin, Jetbird's website is still calling for a 2009 launch while Blink -- claiming to be Europe's "first air taxi service" -- with its headquarters in London has indicated it will begin operations this month. The article also discusses a concern of Eurocontrol with the potential adverse impact of vljs (that I discussed here a few months ago):

It notes that "[i]n October, Eurocontrol will conduct a simulation in Budapest that will flood air-traffic control with hundreds of microjets. If the test suggests that the safety of larger planes could be compromised, Eurocontrol may push regulators to mandate dedicated flight paths and better collision-avoidance gear."

My sense is that ultimately the European market and customers for air taxis are somewhat different from that in the US with much greater initial attraction to leisure and vacation travel in Europe in addition to business travel. It will indeed be interesting to compare the two markets as they emerge. While there might be quite a few differences, one thing is the surley same: the common themes of improvements in quality of life and efficiency and renewed enjoyment in air travel are shared by both current US operators and prospective European operators.

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FAA's 2008 Air Taxi/VLJ Industry Forecast: Sustained Growth

The 33rd Annual FAA Industry Forecast included some interesting information on VLJ and air taxi predictions. My last several posts have discussed the commercial and general aviation economic indications. The FAA's forecast written materials are insightful and positive providing specific air taxi and VLJ predictions. As posted and available on the FAA website, here are some of the highlights of the FAA Aerospace Forecast, Fiscal Years 2008-2025:

• The actual number of 2007 VLJ deliveries fell short of the FAA's 2007 prediction (143 vs. 350), but that does not temper future predictions.The 2008 FAA report projects that VLJs will enter the market at 450-500 per year for a total of 8,145 by 2025.
• "This is in the middle of a fairly wide range of industry predictions. Those who believe the time has come for the air taxi industry tend to have higher fleet forecasts. Those who are less sanguine about the prospects for the on-demand air taxi industry tend to have more conservative fleet forecasts. If the on-demand air taxi industry does gain widespread acceptance, it will spur the demand for VLJs and the general aviation active jet fleet and hours flown could be higher than forecast."
• VLJs/air taxis are expected to average 1,500 hours per year.
• Commuter/air taxi operations are predicted to fall 1.4% in 2008 and then increase 2.7% in 2009 as air taxis stimulate this marketplace with a total 2.7% increase over the entire duration of the FAA's 2025 projection period.
• "Over the forecast period, commercial aircraft instrument operations are forecast to increase at 2.5 per cent per year with increases in commuter/air taxi activity surpassing air carrier activity. General aviation instrument operations are projected to grow 2.1 per cent per year, reflecting in part the expected impact of the introduction of VLJs to the general aviation fleet. "
• "Partly because of the influx of new VLJs, the number of general aviation hours flown is projected to increase an average of 3 per cent per year through 2025."

The complete FAA Report is available with a number of supplemental charts and supporting documentation online. These US domestic market numbers obviously do not even take into account the European and worldwide market demand where we have already seen overseas interest in the Eclipse 500, the Cessna Citation Mustang (Blink and Bikkair) and the Embraer Phenom 100 (Jetbird). More positive aviation predictions in a time filled with otherwise negative economic news!

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