Biggin Hill airport once again played host to Business Aircraft Europe (BAE) this month (11th - 12th September) and it is clear that the event is becoming increasingly popular. Since securing Biggin Hill as its permanent home in 2011, BAE has gone from strength to strength and is establishing itself as one of Europe’s top annual industry events.
This year’s show boasted 45 exhibition stands, a static display featuring 14 aircraft and 10 panels/discussions focusing on some of business aviation’s hottest topics. In addition to the industry-famous RizonJet ‘Lifestyle Evening’ that follows the first day of the expo, it is no wonder that MIU Events was expecting over 1000 trade visitors over the two days. As always there was a wide variety of both exhibitors and attendees covering a wide spectrum of the industry. From charter brokers, operators and handling agents, to fuel providers, interior designers and maintenance companies, BAE is arguably an invaluable event in terms of conducting business, networking and getting up to speed on all industry news and issues.
(Clockwise) King Air B200, DragonFly; Learjet 40XR, Jet Brokers Europe; Cirrus N3600X, Cirrus Aircraft Corporation; King Air 90, Jota Aviation; Hawker 1000B, Jetcraft Corporation
The event opened with an overview of industry activity with statistics and analysis courtesy of bizav intelligence company WINGX Advance. Going into great detail according to country, aircraft type, airport, etc., it is clear to see that there are glimpses of recovery, even in an industry where overall aircraft utilisation is down by 25%. Seventeen out of the 37 countries studied demonstrated significant YOY growth in activity last month (August 2013) with European departures experiencing an overall increase of 0.8%. Ultra Long Range aircraft and VLJs are both showing great strength in Europe – +18.1% and +15.7% respectively – with even more impressive statistics for Northern America. With WINGX Advance steadily gaining recognition as a leading source of industry intelligence, Koe’s presentation offered clear insights into how the industry is fairing and provided context in which to set the rest of the event.
European Business Aviation departure growth in August, WINGX Advance
Following a short networking coffee break, some of Europe’s top operators took to the stage to divulge their knowledge of the European market. As a continuation of issues raised last year at the same panel, operator consolidation was the main topic of discussion. Panel members agreed that there must be clear economic benefits to warrant a merger. Glen Heavens, MD of Synergy Aviation, said that the main appeals of consolidation are centred on cost-control and achieving economies of scale, particularly given that whilst revenue has remained relatively stable over the last year or so, costs are certainly on the rise. LEA CEO, Patrick Margetson-Rushmore added further driving forces to a merger, such as increased revenue or other desirable resources, including strategic merging of management skills. Whilst consolidation certainly has the potential to benefit those involved, Heavens added that the merging of two stable like-minded companies is in reality a very rare occurrence: more often than not it is more a case of an acquisition or buy-out. The panel went on to discuss the principal reasons behind this, citing in particular owners’ unrealistic views in terms of company valuation and conflicts over who shall retain management control. Discussion then moved onto the potential of vertical integration; Heavens ventured the idea of a merger between operator and maintenance or handling agent being potentially more appealing to operators at a time when operators are increasingly conscious of costs. The topic of consolidation was brought up numerous times across the event and no doubt will continue to be debated throughout many industry conferences in the future.
Patrick Margetson-Rushmore, LEA; Bernhard Fragner, Globe Air; Cameron Ogden, Blink; Howard Palser, DragonFly; Glen Heavens, Synergy.
After a busy day of panels, presentations and business meetings, it was time to make our way across the airfield to the annual RizonJet drinks reception – something that has established itself as an important part of BAE. The Annual event is held in RizonJet’s luxurious purpose-built hangar, where more aircraft and a number of high-end cars were on display. Once all the guests had a drink in hand, the main attraction of the event began: the Spirit of Kent spitfire display, as always a great end to a business-filled first day.
Spirit of Kent, Biggin based Spitfire
Day two began and, whilst inevitably a little quieter than the first, there was still a lot of business to conduct. The matter of consolidation came up again during the Charter Brokers panel, but the main topic for debate was how to stimulate the stagnant market; discussion opened with the prospects for the “Future of Bizav”. Amongst talk of how brokers can adapt to survive, it was generally concluded that if we are to increase the size of the market and find new customers, then the natural progression would be towards a combination of traditional methods and new technologies such as online booking platforms (with a mention of Stratajet specifically, amongst others). Talk then shifted towards how to increase regulation amongst brokers, including broker training and accreditation. It was agreed this needs further attention, whether on a governmental level with the CAA or on an industry level through EBAA and BACA.. The concern was that something must be done to ensure that the irresponsible behaviour of ‘bedroom brokers’ doesn’t give the rest of private jet charter brokers a bad name. As with the topic of consolidation, I believe that this will be an issue that will be raised frequently until appropriate action is taken.
Mark Green, Oxygen Aviation; Neil Harvey, Hunt and Palmer; Glen Heavens, Synergy
All in all, I think it is safe to say Business Aviation Europe 2013 was a resounding success. Whilst it is clear that we may not yet be back to pre-2008 levels of business, there is a distinct air of positivity around and the majority of the industry is showing enthusiasm in embracing new approaches in a bid to secure a healthy future for business aviation. The event served its purpose of providing a platform for business and discussions; I have no doubt that many of the issues raised at BAE will resurface at numerous industry conferences over the next few years, as they have done in for the last few. In the meantime, here’s to a healthy and prosperous year of business until BAE 2014.
Christina Hayes
Marketing Assistant