E U R O P E A N
BUSINESS AIR NEWS ISSUE 224
APRIL 2012
Crucial year ahead as EBAA pledges to monitor FBO standards
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Second Encore keeps Hesnes strategy on course
Hesnes Air’s managing director Pia Harneshaug and marketing and sales manager Sissel Kirkvaag now have a second Citation Encore based at Gardermoen airport. The Norwegian operator has a mixed fleet of business jets, turboprops and helicopters. See full story on page 6.
Business aviation faces many challenges, and with a host of new EU legislation and more to come, now is the time to be proactive. This was the message delivered during the European Business Aviation Association’s annual general meeting recently. Chief executive Fabio Gamba urged European decision-makers to recognise the particular circumstances of aviation. Business aviation in particular is trying to make a healthy recovery after the difficult years following the worldwide economic crisis. It does so, however, in the face of new political hurdles and rising operating costs. These include a worrying proliferation of national taxes, a burdensome EU ETS, a faulty Single European Sky due to the lack of member states’ political will, a recast of the slots regulation that deprives business aviation of historical rights under its current form, and other important initiatives in domains such as ground handling, noise, and community guidelines on state aid at regional airports, he says. “We may be facing headwinds, but that means we must push harder against them. We must demonstrate the significance of our industry,” says Gamba. One initiative is the creation of an International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH). It is mirrored on the IS-BAO operations equivalent, which is a recognised European standard and has over 500
operators registered globally as being in compliance. “The EU’s Ground Handling Regulation recast did not include airports of less than two million passengers, which is primarily the types of airport from which business aviation operates. Therefore we have anticipated the needs of our industry and developed up-todate standards that are also aligned with the regulations,” explains Brian Humphries, EBAA president. “We will conduct our own quality and safety assessments of FBOs and ground handling against this standard, enhancing both safety and the customer experience to the benefit of all.”
Fabio Gamba calls for a strong will in the face of political challenges.
Another important initiative includes business aviation's campaign to curtail illegal charter flight activity within Europe. “Twenty-twelve is a pivotal year for our industry. There are many tough choices to make and challenges to face,” Gamba concludes.
VistaJet’s world view includes aircraft based in Beijing VistaJet has signed a historic agreement with Beijing Airlines, the private aviation subsidiary of Air China, that it hopes will lead to a longterm partnership. The memorandum of understanding will investigate joint marketing, sales and operational opportunities, and will see VistaJet establishing a formal presence in China with a base in Beijing and eventually operating
OLYMPICS & EURO 2012 PREVIEWS Pages 7- 12
point-to-point within China. The MoU follows a significant increase in demand from Chinese entrepreneurs and businesses who have flown VistaJet internationally for the company to base aircraft within China. Thomas Flohr, chairman, says: “We have been targeting China as a major market for expansion and our new partnership with Beijing
Airlines will allow us to rapidly build a presence in this very fast growing market.” “As an entrepreneur, you cannot afford to spend up to three days flying commercially between Harbin and Khartoum. Nor are you going to want to fly on some of the airlines that will get you there. “With our modern longhaul fleet, we are directly connecting locations such as east Asia with east Africa in
up to a third of the time, and in style.” A future long-term partnership agreement could see VistaJet increase the number of aircraft available to service the Chinese market including locating a number of aircraft in the country, drawn from the company’s large order backlog. As part of its strategic expansion programme, VistaJet has identified
priorities for further regional investment during 2012 including Russia, where VistaJet has established a major presence, and Africa. Flohr concludes: “The agreement we have announced gives us a major platform to establish a leading presence on the ground and I look forward soon to declaring VistaJet as China’s preferred luxury aviation company.”