Lifestyle / Aviation
region, witnessing an increase of 153 per cent in flight hours in H1 2021, significantly ahead of the 76 per cent growth in North America and 41 per cent in Europe. Dubai was Vista’s number one location for flights globally during H1 2021. Flohr attributes it to several reasons including the UAE’s decision to push forward with a business normalcy and continuity plan while reopening rapidly. The Middle East reportedly saw a 100 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of new VistaJet Program members between January and June 2021. The region saw some of the highest growth in terms of the number of all VistaJet flights, with Bahrain, UAE and Qatar showing triple-digit year-on-year growth of 283 per cent, 236 per cent and 231 per cent respectively. Flohr, who has pursued several large acquisitions to diversify the reach of Vista, is also equally clear on the areas where he is not immediately looking to engage – specifically the construction of FBOs. “The infrastructure on the ground, the FBOs [in the Middle East] are second to none in the world. If you look at Al Bateen or Al Maktoum as ground stations, it is a client experience second to none in the world – and I think the western world has to catch up [in this area],” says Flohr. “However, when we speak to our clients, they tell us that the time they want to spend in the terminal is minimal. They would like ideally to go from their car straight to the airplane. So, the actual time spent in the FBOs is, in our opinion, limited and that’s why FBOs are not our strategic focus.”
W
hat is certainly a strategic focus area though for Vista, and a core one at that according to Flohr, is the issue of sustainability – a subject for which private aviation has come under a lot of heat. Vista, he says, is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2025, 25 years ahead of the entire industry. And they’re taking the customer along for the journey. “When they sign a subscription contract with us, we have a serious conversation on their willingness to contribute to our sustainability programme. Ultimately, 87 per cent of them have decided, so far, to contribute financially to our activities. The sustainable fuel programme we have is probably the most promising real contribution. We are using the funds to pay more
70
September 2021
for that sustainable fuel. Unfortunately, not enough airports have sustainable fuel available today,” notes Flohr. While it was corporate ownership of jets that Flohr eventually challenged with his business model a decade-and-a-half ago, he now has the high-spending segment of commercial airlines within his cross sights. VistaJet took delivery of two ultra-longhaul Global 7500 aircraft in April this year, with a total of 12 committed by the company, besides confirming an order for 10 Challenger 350 jets. “We waited 10 years for the Global 7500. The Middle East, with our 7500, is now connected non-stop to any point in the world, and that’s a big driver of growth for the region. Earlier, the advantage of flying commercial on an A380 was that you could fly straight to San Francisco or Australia – and prior to the 7500 you had to stop somewhere [with a private jet].” Apart from connectivity, it is the customer base itself that is pushing the growth of private aviation in the midst of a pandemic. The number of touchpoints while flying private are believed to be 20, as opposed to 700 when flying commercial. “According to a McKinsey study done pre-pandemic, only 10 per cent of the corporations and individuals that could afford to fly private, flew private – the remaining 90 per cent of them flew commercial,” Flohr says outlining the potential of seizing this customer base. “Also, on some routes, we think it’s more environmentally friendly to fly on an airplane with eight seats with a very small
carbon footprint, compared to [commercial] airlines which have to fly to a remote location with only a 20 per cent load factor on that airplane.” There is also the sheer economics of the seat-sharing facility which operators like Vista are now providing on private jets. With its JetSmarter acquisition, for example, Vista allows customers to crowdsource a flight through its app which has over two million downloads, thereby offering seats at reduced price points and with vetted members as companions on that journey. Flohr’s research and insights has also thrown up another curveball which is expected to help private aviation further chip away at the business of commercial airlines. “Our intelligence tells us that a huge amount of the first-class capacity will be taken out of commercial airplanes. There will be a significant reduction [of first-class seats] on many routes, and even on the routes where they remain, there are going to be much fewer of them available,” says Flohr. As the experience of flying first on commercial goes down, the likelihood that these customers move to private jets, which are now offered at lower price points, increases significantly. To make sure that its jets become a more inviting space for these spillover customers who are accustomed to the bells-and-whistles in first- and businessclass cabins on commercial, Flohr says that Vista is now upgrading the cabin experience across its entire fleet. Commercial aviation, buckle up. gulfbusiness.com