A new Harris Poll survey commissioned by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has confirmed that business aviation is utilized mainly by small and medium-size companies that typically fly turboprops or small jets to maximize employee efficiency and productivity while providing travel schedule flexibility.
The poll, released at last week’s NBAA Convention in Las Vegas, also confirmed that a broad mix of employees – not primarily top executives – fly on business aircraft, which usually travel to community airports that usually have little or no scheduled airline service.
This most recent snapshot of business aviation — titled “The Real World of Business Aviation: A 2015 Survey of Companies Using General Aviation Aircraft” — was based on surveys of 323 pilots and aviation managers of turbine-powered business aircraft, as well as 132 business aircraft passengers, conducted by Harris Poll from late October through early November.
Like two similar Harris surveys conducted in 1997 and 2009, the results of the 2015 study show that:
- Most companies using business aviation are small companies;
- Most companies using business aviation have only one airplane;
- More than half of the turbine-powered business airplanes flying today are turboprops or smaller jets;
- Many business aircraft are largely flown to towns with little or no airline service;
- A primary driver of business aircraft use is scheduling flexibility;
- Business aviation missions often involve multiple destinations;
- Companies use both business aircraft and the airlines as appropriate;
- Top management is on board business aircraft less than half the time;
- Employees use their time on company aircraft to be highly effective and productive;
- Many business airplanes are used to fly humanitarian missions; and
- An increasing number of companies are using business aircraft to fly internationally
The Real World of Business Aviation is part of a suite of tools, developed under the No Plan No Gain joint advocacy campaign, for use by NBAA members and other industry advocates when educating policymakers and the general public about the value of business aviation to citizens, companies and communities.
Review the survey here.