Is it a good idea to favour business aviation on Bern/Belp airport when this sector isn’t very profitable for Geneva airport? Landing fees are calculated based on the weight of the aircraft and number of passengers, which doesn’t seem very profitable. But we must also look at the benefits for the region. “I don’t think we should only focus on landing fees. It’s worth looking at the volume of business that is generated by these entrepreneurs who come to do business in the area. It goes further than just airport taxes”, says Jean-René Saillard, Vice President of NetJets Europe for the Swiss market, a company which proposes fractional ownership.
Still, we live in an era of video-conferencing, is it still important to have these connections? Even more so when the economic situation is fragile - a physical meeting can be decisive. We can’t just do video-conferencing. A direct meeting can make all the difference and private aviation is a productivity mean, allowing faster progress, and is, in a way, a tool of modern management.
Nevertheless, in 2008 we saw that hundreds of businesses had given up their jets for reasons concerning image, planes which were perhaps too ‘bling’. It was brutal. This could happen again, right? It’s true that it may not be appropriate for a company to have jets during periods of economic difficulty. But there are other ways of using private aviation, such as those proposed by NetJets Europe. And it’s an alternative that has proved impervious to a fragile economic climate.
Between 2008 and 2009, business planes sales fell by 24% worldwide. Can you say with confidence that you see a future in your sector?
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We consider ourselves to be in a state of stability right now. Without seeming over-confident, we are noting positive signs: the return of previous customers, who stopped flying in 2008/9 and who have come back to us, or existing customers with growing demands. And then in Switzerland there is always an influx of people who are ready to use private aviation, either business-related, or for personal reasons.
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Jean-René Saillard, Vice President - Swiss Market, NetJets Europe.
There is a lot of talk about the environment, about CO2, these days. Private jets aren’t really helping this, are they? We have very quickly taken measures to offset our carbon emissions. You can take private planes and be aware of the environment too, doing whatever it takes to compensate for the effects of the flight.
For example? We have automatically added a certain charge to flights, which will be put towards research projects for cleaner fuel, or for compensating for emissions in places which are the most polluted in the world.
And in the meantime, those who live next to the Bern/Belp airport just watch the planes pass by.
Interview by Maurice Doucas
Radio Suisse Romande, 10th October 2011