JSSI Report Shows The Americas Remain Steady While Europe Dips

As the United States continues to apparently slowly recover from what many are calling the Great Recession, the business aviation industry can report that it, too, is seeing some improvement, with growth around the world in markets like Asia Pacific (+6.1 percent), Eastern Europe (+10.7 percent) and the Middle East (+3 percent). Flight hours were not as strong for Europe or North America, with a dip of 4.4 percent and 1.6 percent respectively. Africa fared the worst with a loss of 16.9 percent.

JSSI has released a quarterly, in-depth index that tracks the number of hours that business aircraft have flown, by region and aircraft type. "Flight hours are a direct indicator of the overall health of the economy," said JSSI Co-President, Susan Marr. "It's not surprising that North America remained relatively flat, while growth markets like Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe continued with steady growth. The European economy is still very much hampered by the Euro Zone crisis, and our numbers reflect that."

In response to the growth in Asia, JSSI recently announced the opening of its Asian headquarters at the Hong Kong International Airport. The company has also forged a strategic partnership with China Business Aviation Group, China's leading provider of turnkey solutions for aircraft purchases and operations, in order to support JSSI's business development strategies throughout the region.

The business aviation industry has been a political hot button issue of late. But the industry itself, a $150 billion industry, is vital to a healthy U.S. economy. It allows companies large and small the ability to do business on a global scale while supporting more than 2.1 million middle class American jobs.

FMI: www.jetsupport.com