London was Europe’s top city for business jet travel in 2015

London was Europe’s top city for business aviation in 2015, with a quarter of Europe’s Top 20 airports those serving the capital, according to a report and infographic about European private aviation by private jet booking service PrivateFly.

The infographic analysis uses industry data of total private aviation traffic, by airport. While Paris Le Bourget was the single busiest airport in Europe, with almost 50,000 private flight movements (a departure or arrival), London was the only city to feature multiple airports in the Top 20, with its top five airports contributing a combined total of over 84,000 flight movements.

Key findings include:

• While overall private jet demand in Europe was 0.6% down on 2014, London saw a 1.5% increase at its top 5 airports in 2015.
• The most popular London airport for business aviation was London Luton, which ranks fourth in Europe – after Paris Le Bourget, Geneva, and Nice Cote D’Azur.
• London Oxford and London Biggin Hill airports both saw significant increases in popularity in 2015, up 11% and 5% respectively.
• Other winners and losers were Palma de Mallorca – entering the top 20 for the first time and increasing by 8% on 2014; and conversely Moscow Vnukovo – seeing a significant fall of 22% from 2014. Geneva was also down by 7%.

Adam Twidell, CEO of PrivateFly comments on the findings: “Market conditions are still difficult but London was Europe’s business aviation success story in 2015, seeing a slight growth, against the overall decline – largely driven by the continued political unrest in Russia.

“In London, business travellers using private jets have a wide choice of airports, which each offer something different and of course, reflect it size. At the top is Luton, the smart choice. While London City Airport offers the fastest access to the city, and London Northolt is more central,Luton is open 24 hours, giving round-the-clock accessibility. It also has lower landing fees and repositioning costs, since many aircraft are based there.

“While Farnborough has a more established VIP appeal for clients with a budget to match, cost-effectiveness is an important consideration for business efficiency in today’s market. This accounts for the growing appeal of up-and-coming London Biggin Hill and London Oxford, particularly with business jet travellers entering the market for the first time. With Biggin Hill set to expand its opening hours to private jets this year, we’ll see it go from strength to strength in 2016”.

To view the full infographic visit bit.ly/1RmBq6l.