The route less traveled: private aviation eyes limited direct flights to lure execs
04/08/2021 06:00
By Allison Lampert
Aug 4 (Reuters) - Private aviation companies are making a
beeline for executives wary of flying commercial to business
meetings due to a limited offering of direct flights, as
corporate travel eases back this fall after a pandemic-induced
slump.
Private air traffic has rebounded above 2019 levels, helped
by wealthy leisure travelers avoiding commercial earlier in the
pandemic to avoid contracting the virus or due to fewer direct
flights. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2HE0FE
Now, some charter companies are trying to extend that
advantage to corporate travel, with scheduled flights to some
business hubs still below 2019 levels despite a broader
leisure-driven rebound in commercial traffic.
Corporate planemakers like General Dynamics Corp's GD.N
Gulfstream Aerospace and Textron Inc TXT.N are boosting
production as demand rises. Rival Bombardier BBDb.TO reports
earnings on Thursday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2P42SZ urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2P52GW
Corporate travel, expected to revive this fall, is crucial
for aviation because of demand from frequent flyers and
airlines' appetite for higher-margin premium fares.
But a full recovery could take years due to remote work and
rising U.S. COVID-19 cases driven by the more aggressive Delta
variant. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2NL2ZJ
Major U.S. carriers are restoring routes as restrictions
ease. Delta Air Lines DAL.N will more than double the number
of daily flights between the U.S. and Canada starting in
September, once fully-vaccinated Americans can fly to the
country.
But major carriers' domestic flights dipped 15.3% in July
2021 compared with 2019, with flights down by half to and from
certain business hubs, according to aviation data company
Cirium.
That creates an opening for companies like Airshare, now
growing with three new Bombardier Challenger jets this year. Its
business traffic has returned to 90% of 2019 levels.
"For you to be able to get in and out of a destination (by
commercial) for a meeting on the same day, it is very
difficult," said Andy Tretiak, chief marketing officer of
Airshare, which offers charter flights among other services.
"They have to cater their schedule around the airlines,"
Tretiak said in July about his customers who also fly
commercial.
"But they would rather do the opposite."
U.S. commercial airline flights, while soaring over 2020
levels, were still down 20% compared with 2019, according to the
weekly average from July 21-28 from FlightAware. By contrast
Business aviation flights were up 23% for the week compared with
2019.
David McCown, president of the Americas for Air Partner PLC
AIRA.L , which provides aircraft charters among other services,
expects to get some new corporate shuttle contracts "coming
online by Q3, certainly by Q4."
He said UK-based Air Partner brokered a new shuttle contract
in 2020 from an energy company that couldn't find a direct
airline flight to Latin America due to cutbacks.
Still, private aviation remains niche and prohibitively
expensive. Business aircraft flights account for just 4 percent
of traffic at the busiest airports used by commercial airlines,
according to the National Business Aviation Association.
Air Partner's advertised U.S. hourly rate for a midsize
cabin is $7,300.
Tretiak acknowledged private aviation can't beat airlines on
price, but can attract travelers through fast service at smaller
airports.
In the United States, 9,399 flights were canceled in June,
FlightAware said, due to labor shortages, among other reasons.
"What we’re competing with is the value of your time,"
Tretiak said.
(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal, Editing by Nick
Zieminski)
((Allison.Lampert@thomsonreuters.com; 514-796-4212; Reuters
Messaging: allison.lampert.reuters.com@reuters.net))