The change in mood within the business aviation industry since the EBACE show last year “truly beggars belief,” said an Aviation International News report on May 15. EBACE is the annual business aviation expo put on by the European Business Aviation Association.
Since September, the financial crisis, which hurt some of the industry’s best customers, the bankers, severely has been “one kick in the teeth after another,” AIN said.” Despite that, the mood at EBACE in Geneva has certainly not been desperate.”
With a day still to go, visitor attendance had reached 10,738, the third largest since the show was launched in 2001, and if that number edges above 11,000 on the last day it will be the second-largest ever, AIR stated.
In addition, there were 65 aircraft on static display compared with 60 last year. EBAA chairman Brian Humphries told AIN that he is encouraged by the turnout as well as by the “buoyant attitudes of those attending.” Many people at the show “believe the industry has stabilized and could soon be poised to return to growth,” AIN reported.
Hawker Beechcraft is an example of the buoyancy AIN observed.
The company has added Germany-based Aerodata at Braunschweig Airport to its network of authorized service centers. In addition to aircraft maintenance, Aerodata can provide turnkey special-mission aircraft worldwide. Aerodata is also a source of flight inspection systems.
Hawker Beechcraft also has added Saudi Arabia-based Arabian Aircraft Service (Arabasco) to its Hawker 800 authorized service center network. Arabasco plans to add more aircraft to its service offerings in the near future, said Hawker Beechcraft, also has realigned its field service representatives, whose contact information can be found at www.hawkerbeechcraft.com.
How refreshing to read this article, and how relieved I am to find that the industry backs up my own feelings about a growth period in the business.