Sustainability communications will be at the forefront of the agenda for business aviation in 2020, says Adam Twidell, CEO of PrivateFly.
Reflecting on the last twelve months and looking forward to the year ahead Twidell said: “It’s been an eventful and exciting year… The next twelve months are set to bring more innovation and growth – including steps forward in our technology and more exclusive on-demand offerings for our clients. But what can the wider industry expect to see in 2020?”
With sustainability communications being at the forefront Twidell said that with “awareness of climate change now accelerating rapidly, this year will see companies moving towards self-governance, and communicating their efforts more publicly.”
With corporate and individual clients becoming more considered about who they choose to fly with he added that: “For providers in our industry, a clear and considered sustainability strategy, will be an essential commercial consideration – as well as an environmental one.”
Twidell’s predictions also included the acceleration of electric aircraft with business aviation being the first sub-sector to implement electric aviation. “With current limitations on battery capacity (to weight), the first generation of certified electric aircraft will be small and short range – rather than commercial airliners.” To support the growth and progress of electrification there also needs to be investment in regulation and airport infrastructure.
Following the General Election in the UK at the end of 2019, the terms of Brexit are now expected to be worked out in 2020 as Twidell enthused that the industry can now “move forwards with more confidence and understanding of the UK’s new aviation relationship with the rest of Europe.”
Other predictions included further industry consolidation as well as anticipated losses in Europe in 2020. With a slew of new aircraft programmes entering service in 2019, the year ahead is set to be one of significant growth for several recent market entries.
More extreme weather demand from flooding to forest fires and hurricanes to heavy snowfall have seen a spike in on-demand private jet charter activity. This is something that Twidell anticipates we will see more of in the coming months.
And finally with the Euro 2020 championships a welcome addition to 2020’s sporting calendar, business aviation is expecting to benefit from on-demand travel requests from teams, corporates, sponsors and groups of fans. To mark the Championship’s 60th anniversary, 12 cities across the continent have been selected as hosts. These include: Amsterdam (Netherlands), Baku (Azerbaijan), Bilbao (Spain), Budapest (Hungary), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dublin (Republic of Ireland), Glasgow (Scotland), London (UK), Munich (Germany), Rome (Italy) and Saint Petersburg (Russia).
