Business Aviation stimulates economic growth across Europe

“Business Aviation connects distant and remote regions, spurring investment and the growth of business across Europe”

The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has today published an Economic Value and Business Benefits Report, outlining clearly the value derived by the European economy from the activity of Business Aviation.

The report, commissioned by the EBAA and produced by Booz Allen Hamilton in collaboration with Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt (DLR), examines the economic impact of the Business Aviation sector on the European economy (EU28 incl. Monaco, San Marino, Gibraltar, Channel Islands, Island of Man, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein), building on a similar report published in 2016.

In three distinct areas, the report quantifies the value that Business Aviation brings to the European economy and businesses more specifically. First, it outlines how Business Aviation is enabling economic growth through the jobs and investment that it makes. Second, it showcases how Business Aviation is helping drive efficiencies across businesses, quantifying the time and costs savings that can arise. Finally, it demonstrates how Business Aviation can support better connectivity across Europe, particularly from hard to reach corners of the continent.

Through engaging infographics, the report then moves on to outlining the individual contribution made in each of the EU28, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. 

Speaking ahead of the report’s launch at the Annual General Meeting of the EBAA, Chairman Juergen Wiese, said: “As we gather here in Brussels as a Business Aviation community, it is helpful to be reminded of the total contribution made by the sector. From the substantive number of jobs to the simple societal benefits – such as air ambulances and medical evacuations – the sector provides a huge amount of value for the European economy and to European business.”

EBAA’s Chief Operating Officer, Robert Baltus, added: “Up and down the European continent, Business Aviation is creating jobs and enabling new investment, something that is often forgotten. Without Business Aviation in some regions, business connectivity simply would not be possible, and as a result new ventures and opportunities would never be realised. This is something positive which we must recognise, and this report aims to quantify what specifically that benefit/value looks like.”

Key Facts About Business Aviation

Business Aviation Enables Economic Growth

• A total of some 374,000 European jobs are either directly or indirectly dependent on the European Business Aviation industry – a number exceeding the total number of jobs in Cyprus.

• The industry represents €87 billion in Output and €32 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA),

  which equals the total GVA of Latvia, and €25 billion spent in Salaries.

• The effect of Business Aviation over the EU28 GVA is about 0.19%.

• France, Switzerland, Germany and the UK are the main players in the sector, producing 76%

  of the total GVA of the industry.

• Out of the above total, 192,000 of the sector’s jobs stem from the operation of business

  aircraft, i.e. jobs with aircraft operators, maintenance firms (MROs) and ground handlers/fixed-base operators (FBOs).

Business Aviation Enables Business Efficiencies

• Across all European point-to-point flight routes, Business Aviation flights save an average of 127 minutes, when compared with the fastest commercial transportation alternative.

• Although certain long-haul flights might be faster with commercial jets due to higher ground speed, about 20% of Business Aviation flights result in more than five hours of time saved than their best commercial alternative due to delays avoided and time saved in airport procedures.

  Business Aviation Enables Connectivity

• Business Aviation in Europe serves 25,280 city or area pairs not connected by nonstop commercial flights (direct flights), which represent approximately 31% of total city pairs analysed. In short, nearly 1 connection out of 3 is not connected by any direct commercial flight, meaning the connection wouldn’t exist without Business Aviation.

• For the eight city areas considered, on average, Business Aviation increased the number of direct connections to a city by more than 450% compared with regularly scheduled commercial aviation.

• Business Aviation allows for air ambulances and medical evacuations to be provided to and from remote regions. According to EBAA data, 12,000 departures were flown to serve medical evacuations representing more than 50 departures a day.

• Since Business Aviation requires fewer connections and is subject to fewer delays, it represents an optimised travel option from an environmental perspective.

  For more details, data and statistics, please access the Economic Value and Business Benefits Report at ebaa.org.