Private jets, Italy flies high spending one billion in 5 years
In Italy, there are those who have decided to buy a new car, others to renovate their house. And there are also those who have already planned to change private planes. And we are not talking about small flying machines for a few thousand euros, but expensive models designed for businessmen and able to fly over the Atlantic without worries. We don’t have the data for 2020 yet, but it’s a safe bet that more private jets will be purchased. Indeed, private jets offer much more security compared to the risk of Covid-19 contagion, which already has boosted the demand for private flights.
By 2024, therefore within five years, the national Scrooge are ready to return the old jet for a new one at prohibitive costs even for people with bulging wallets. The cost of this whim (for some) or need (for others, such as top managers of multinational companies) will reach a total of one billion euros. A surprising figure that emerges from an analysis by Shearwater Aero Capital on the occasion of the largest exhibition on business aviation, Ebace, which took place in recent days in Geneva.
Research on business aircraft reveals that 36 new factory private jets are about to land on Italian runways. The price of these aircraft remains unattainable for many, even for those who are ready to buy the luxurious one-shot supercars. Total expenditure is expected to be around € 1.17 billion. The boom in new jets stems from a trivial motivation: Italian buyers go hunting for new things, just like any other consumer enticed by new car models.
The eyes of our local buyers have focused, for example, on the Bombardier Global 7000 series (from 65 million euros), the Gulfstream G500 (“flies” to 40 million euros), the Cessna Citation Longitude (which costs “only” 27 million euros) and the Pilatus PC-24 which closes at 8 million euros in the price list if purchased new. However, the cost does not stop with the purchase: to have and use the Bombardier Global 5000 (lower range than the twin 7000), an aircraft capable of covering 9,630 kilometers with a full speed and flying at a speed of 944 kilometers per hour, in addition to write a check for a minimum of 55 million euros, it is necessary to set aside another 2 thousand euros for each hour flown to keep it.
It should be noted that Italy is certainly not a Cinderella when it comes to private planes. On the contrary: a fleet of around 78 private jets is currently based in Italy, 35 of which are classified as “heavy or large”. Eight are instead of “medium” tonnage while 35 are “light”. In practice, this is a double fleet compared to that of the first airline in Italy, Ryanair, which operates with 40 short-medium range aircraft. A number that is also very close to the former national airline Alitalia which has just over 100 aircraft. And of the 36 jets arriving in Italy, 16 will be heavy, 4 will be medium and 16 light. According to Chris Miller, of Shearwater Aero Capital, «Italy is a very attractive market for the” business aviation “sector. It has a large presence on the territory of large aircraft as well as more expensive than other nations ».