In the aftermath of the First World War, the creation of Aéropostale gave France the status of a land of aviators.
Its pilots, Saint-Exupéry, Guillaumet or Mermoz, became heroes acclaimed by literature and cinema, from Joseph Kessel to Howard Hawks.
But over the years, France's loathing of ostentation has made private aviation the emblem of the whim of the rich, the prerogative of an ultra-privileged elite.
While 8% of all flights in Europe were private flights in 2019, the health crisis has once again moved the lines.
“We observed an explosion in demand just before the shutdown, in March 2020. In September, with the interruption of commercial flights, we also broke records.
Businessmen always needed to work, people always needed to travel, ”said
Thomas Flohr, founder and president of VistaJet, the world leader in private jet charter.
Launched in 2004, this company with strong European roots (46% of its flights) now has a fleet of 160 aircraft.
“The Covid has convinced people of the efficiency of private aviation, far from the Hollywood image of the jet, associated with luxury and champagne.
Our service, in addition to saving our customers time, ensures infallible health security ”,
proclaims the Swiss leader.
More families and new types of travelers
It must be said that the advantages are numerous: social distancing respected from departure to arrival, moments of waiting in an avoided crowd, elimination of stopovers which increase the risk of contamination, access to inaccessible destinations via suspended regular lines ... As many strengths that have earned VistaJet 29% growth in new members in 2020, while its sister brand XO tripled its membership.
"These new customers have subscribed to packages, which means that they will not be one-shot"
, underlines Thomas Flohr.
Another big winner of the crisis: PrivateFly, a reservation portal for the charter and rental of private planes which presents itself as the Skyscanner or the “Jet Expedia”.
According to its report for the third quarter of 2020, the number of new travelers would have increased by 44% compared to the same period in 2019. Among them, nearly half of the customers took a private jet for the first time.
"The makeup of our clientele is changing significantly, with many more families and new travelers than ever before," said
Adam Twidell, general manager of the company that allows you to reserve a device with a few clicks on a mobile application.
The percentage of children transported has increased from 14% last year to 20% in 2020, and that of pets from 3% to 7%.
The majority of bookings were made at the last minute: 55% of customers traveled in the week they booked.
For the English manager, teleworking also has repercussions on the routes:
“Our customers spend more time in usually summer destinations like Ibiza or Faro, because they work from their second home.
In France, in recent months, Nice has been more popular than Paris, and this type of change will probably be even more important in 2021 ”
, he analyzes.
Read also: Tomorrow, we will no longer take the plane at all costs
Low-cost and flight sharing
If the Covid has encouraged the boom in the sector, the landscape has continued to renew itself for ten years.
New
business models
, inspired by the shared economy, have launched the private jet on the path to democratization.
Figurehead of the low-cost of the ultra-luxury: Wijet, taxi jet company founded by two French people, Corentin Denoeud and Alexandre Azoulay.
With its unique pricing system, this SME gives its customers the possibility of boarding four for € 2,400 per hour of flight (for a round trip), within a range of 2,000 kilometers.
However, on-board services are not sacrificed: satellite phone, champagne afloat and Pierre Hermé macaroons are definitely on the menu ...
Almost two thirds of private flights use routes not offered by regular lines.
In 2014, Wijet signed an exclusive partnership with La Première d'Air France to offer continuity after a long-haul flight departing from (or arriving) at Paris-Charles de Gaulle.
Because this is where one of the other strengths of this type of aviation lies: tailor-made.
Almost two-thirds of private flights use routes not offered by regular airline lines.
If the interest of doing a Paris-Chicago at € 120,000 is limited, when a first place offers skip-the-line departure and arrival, a Paris-Inverness (Scotland) in just 1h30 when it would require five on a commercial flight, because of a mandatory change in Rotterdam, can be very interesting.
A true spin-off of the Wijet company, the start-up Cojetage, for its part, is trying to democratize private jet travel by exploiting what the Anglo-Saxons call “
empty legs
”.
Because today, about 40% of private jet flights are done… empty.
These are so-called “positioning” flights, which allow companies to return a jet to its base, the immobilization costing more than the race.
It is these empty flights that the company has decided to market, even at very low prices to make them profitable.
Randomly found on the Cojetage site: a Paris - Nice for € 260 or a Valence - Geneva for € 240.
Big deal.
To read also: Surgical mask, FFP2 ... Which model do you need on the plane?
The "
Air BlaBlaCar
"
Comfort and privacy are two major assets of private jets.
VistaJet
"All these initiatives are based on common sense, both economic and ecological, but that does not create a market"
, points out Olivier Manaut, president of the National Union of French Airlines (Uncaf), which brings together thirty confidential carriers like Amelia and Twin Jet.
“The very essence of private aviation is flexibility.
We take a jet when we want to leave at a certain time from a specific place, not to fill empty places on a whim… This model, although it is virtuous, is unfortunately not very compatible with the type of service offered.
"
The union president also wishes to warn about the security aspect of some of these startups which flourish, change their name, then disappear.
"The technical standards and the maintenance conditions in France are colossal, so some small flight-sharing structures prefer to surf the law to avoid going through the regulations",
warns Olivier Manaut.
The right thing to do for safe travel: ask for a copy of the air operator's certificate (CTA), issued by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation, before boarding.
Read also: Train or plane: which transport to choose for your trips to Europe?
Flight sharing is precisely the specialty of Wingly, the "
Air BlaBlaCar
", founded in 2016 by the French polytechnician Emeric de Waziers.
On this platform intended exclusively for leisure customers, private pilots offer places on board their light aviation devices (twin and single-engine) against a contribution to the costs.
Prices start at € 42 per person for a 50-minute aerial ride over the Seine-et-Marne.
Among the trips most booked by the 40,000 users: a Parisian escape to Deauville, the discovery of the island of Ouessant or a stroll in Saint-Tropez ... Nice gift for small and big occasions.
“Private aviation conveys such an elitist image that people don't realize that if they dared to ask for the price, they might get some good surprises. When traveling with a group of friends or family, some journeys cost more or less the same price as the airliner per person, particularly in summer, ”
confirms Olivier Manaut.
This is also valid on certain very short flights, where the bill for a taxi can sometimes be higher ... than for the helicopter!
Proof that ultra-luxury is possible, even when you are "
less rich than very rich
".
Ready for take off?