Airplanes Used For More Than Executive Transportation

The NBAA and GAMA on Tuesday released the results of a new Harris Poll survey that confirms once again 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 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, which are a statistically valid representation of the use of business aircraft by NBAA’s more than 10,000 member companies, 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
• An increasing number of companies are using business aircraft to fly internationally

“This new survey makes it clear that the key elements and traditional benefits of business aviation remain essentially unchanged from the findings of the two previous surveys conducted by Harris," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "Perhaps most importantly, the results of this poll once again accurately portray the true nature of business aviation.”

"Companies and organizations at all levels continue to recognize and rely on the immense benefits that only general aviation can offer," GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce said. "From helping small businesses grow to allowing aid organizations to get supplies quickly to those who need it most in times of natural disasters and medical emergencies, general aviation aircraft are essential tools, as this study demonstrates."

(Source: NBAA news release)

FMI: www.nbaa.org