Some Execs Are Flying More (Corrected)

0

Business aircraft use still hasn’t recovered to pre-recession levels but some sectors of the economy are using airplanes a lot more than they used to. A study by JSSI, a large support and technical advisorycompany reported by CNBC, says those in the transportation business have more than doubled their aircraft use recently in search of new markets. At the other end of the spectrum, technology companies are logging less than half the hours they used to and other struggling sectors, like consumer goods, are also down substantially. “It tells me people are being a little more judicious about how and when they fly,” said JSSI CEO Neil Book. “The guy who used to fly 600 hours a year is now flying 500 hours.” What’s also changing is where they’re flying.

Book said executives are taking longer flights, heading to international destinations to find new business. “What we’re seeing is people are flying internationally more, going into new markets, developing markets,” he said. The market for large intercontinental business jets has remained buoyant through the recession with the light and mid-size market bearing most of the decline. Book also says that public perception of business aircraft use is likely part of the reason executives think twice before flying. The irony is that automotive executives are flying 60 percent more these days. It was the trip by auto executives to Washington in 2008 seeking government bailouts that is most widely implicated in the negative public view of corporate aviation.

LEAVE A REPLY