Private Aviation Becoming More Affordable...

Single-Engine AOC Operations can finally begin in Europe, opening a whole new angle of the market for private aviation. 

Will this work in Europe?

We have seen success in the US with companies like Plane Sense and Surfair conquer their part of the market, operating Pilatus PC-12s. For short distances like London to Paris, London to Edinburgh, Paris to Milan, this type of aircraft works fine. Also consider that a PC-12 requires a lot less runway than a jet and can also land on grass.

We see terrorist threats increasing and more and more air travelers concerned and debating if to travel by airlines or not. Private jet travel is very much seen as very expensive but could Single-engine turboprop flights bring in more passengers into private flying?

A few years ago I attended a lecture by Harvard Business School Professor, Clayton M. Christensen. Professor Christensen is famous for his books on innovation. He talked about the reason most large companies struggle to innovate being they run the company from the balance sheet. He then went onto saying the root cause of this was because people like him taught that at Business School. You can’t measure innovation until it has actually happened. If Steve Jobs had thought that way he would have never brought the iPhone and the iPad to the market. Well, I view private aviation as an innovative way to travel by air. However, the balance sheet has up until now prevented many companies from trying.

With Surfair about to launch European Operations from London Luton Airport with the Pilatus PC-12 and Embraer Phenom 300 we are going to see some new customers join the ranks of private aviation flying. Just to give you an idea of cost, a return flight from London to Paris will cost around GBP￡3,000 (USD$3,800), divide this by 8 passengers and you get ￡375 each ($475). Surfair are offering a membership model similar to Netflix, where you pay a monthly subscription for unlimited flights. They are also offering Surfanyway model, where you can book a charter and then the other seats will be marketed to other potential passengers.

My prediction is that as more people experience private aviation by starting off with the Pilatus PC-12 they will soon come to realize the potential of using larger aircraft for longer trips. This of course will take time but is positive news for the industry and for entrepreneurs…find out more in my recent interview on Comfort Killers Show on Grant Cardone TV:

Fabrizio Poli is Managing Partner of Aircraft Trading Company Tyrus Wings. He is also an accomplished Airline Transport Pilot having flown both private Jets and for the airlines. Fabrizio is also a bestselling author and inspirational speaker & has been featured on Russia Today (RT), TRT World, Social Media Examiner, Bloomberg, Channel 5, Chicago Tribune, Daily Telegraph, City Wealth Magazine, Billionaire.com, Wealth X, Financial Times, El Financiero and many other Media offering insight on the aviation world. Fabrizio is also regularly featured as an Aviation Analyst on Russia Today (RT) and TRT World. Fabrizio is also aviation special correspondent for luxury magazine, Most Fabullous Magazine. Fabrizio is also considered one of the world's top 30 experts in using Linkedin for business. You can tune in weekly to Fabrizio's business Podcast Living Outside the Cube available both in video & audio. You can also follow Fabrizio's aviation videos on Tyrus Wings TV. Fabrizio's latest book "Health4Flyers", the first natural-health book for pilots, flights attendants and frequent flyers is now available worldwide.