National Business Aviation Association
August 29:National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) president Ed Bolen called out last week for more ‘missionaries’ to speak out for the business merits of flying private jets. This was in response to the Obama-led stereotyping of the industry as the preserve of the very rich and luxury-minded. Outside the US and Europe, Bolen pointed out, the fastest growing economies welcome business jets as a business tool, without any of our home-grown class warfare of haves and have-nots. The problem for Bolen is that right now the industry is surviving precisely because of its promotion of jets as hyper-luxurious accessories for the rich and socially aspiring tycoons from Russia, China and India. Take yesterday’s headline from bizav’s daily newswire Charter X, that leading UK-based operator Ocean Sky has contrived to instal a stone floor in the entrance and galley area of a Bombardier Global Express. It’s a typical example of an industry in constant striving to market exclusivity rather than, as Mr Bolen hopes, a business tool for which its worth his customers foregoing their standard commercial air ticket.