Stats from above #5

The autumn is here, and it means that it is business as usual. Especially across Europe since everyone is back from their summer breaks and businesses and enterprises are at full running speed. With that being said, we will probably see that reflected in our monthly blog series – Stats From Above. It’s where we zoom in on some of the most intriguing statistics from the world of business aviation including popular destinations, busiest routes and airports or the most used types of jets. If you want to catch up before you dive into our latest installment, we suggest you check out our Stats From Above from August.

Stats from above

Looking at the stats provided by our partners from the EBAA, we can see that the skies over Europe have been quite busy over the month of September.

Focusing on arriving flights, there were 1,533 active airports responsible for a grand total of 72,084 arrivals at different European airports. Moving on to active aircrafts there were 5,120 active jets in the skies in September, with the Turboprop segment accounting for the most departures – 15,856. That’s over 600 more departures compared to August. And while we’re on the topic of Turboprops, two out of the three most active aircrafts belong to that segment – the Pilatus PC-12  and the King Air 200.

When we look at the longest trips covered by jets, excluding bizliners from the equation, the Gulfstream G600/650 has been flying the longest distances with an average trip distance of some 2,300 kilometers. That should come as no surprise since they belong in the Ultra Long Range Jet segment.

Busiest airports and routes

Moving on to a more granular view let’s discuss busiest airports, routes, and countries. When it comes to country flows, the trends from August remains mostly unchanged with domestic flights remaining a recurring theme. France remains top of the crop with 5,135 flights, followed by the United Kingdom with 3,957 and Germany coming in third 3,596.

Zooming in at the busiest airports by the number of arrivals, it comes as no surprise that the first two are in France. Paris Le Bourget comes in first and raking in 2,680 flights. And while the Parisian airport happens to be on the list quite often, in September it might have made the list for a special reason. During that month Paris hosts the Paris Fashion Week so you can expect the crème de la crème of celebrities flocking to the French capital to see what the fashion designers  of luxury brands have cooked up this season.

The second airport on the list by number of flights is the Nice Côte d'Azur with 1,982 flights. It’s a nice stop over on your way to or from the Paris Fashion Week, where you can catch the last warm days and close out the summer season with a bang. Another reason to stop over in that particular part of France during September, is the Cannes Yachting Festival that takes place at two of its ports Vieux Port and Port Cantoand is considered to be one of the world’s best boat shows.

When looking at the top airport pairs it seems that quite a few people had the same idea since there are 136 flights from Nice Côte d'Azur to Paris Le Bourget and 135 flights from Paris to Nice.

Jet of the Month

This month’s Jet of the Month is the Bombardier Global XRS manufactured by Bombardier Inc., a Canadian business jet manufacturer founded in 1942 by Joseph-Armand Bombardier. The Bombardier Global Express was first unveiled in 1991, took its maiden flight in 1996 and it entered into service in 1999. So far, there have been over 800 units of the Global Express produced of which 165 were of the Global Express XRS variant.

As for the Bombardier Global Express XRS itself, it is classified as an ultra-long range business jet, which can seat up to sixteen people comfortably, depending on the configuration of course. When it comes to its jet-engines, the XRS is powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce BR700-710A2-20 engines, which provide it with a flight range of approximately 11,000 km. That means that intercontinental flight ranges aren’t a problem. Unless you’re flying from one corner of the world to the other, you’ll probably be able to manage the flight without the need for a layover or refueling stop.

When it comes to comfort the Global XRS has no problem meeting the expectations of the most demanding jetsetters. To have a better idea of what that might look like, let’s take a virtual tour of the interior of a Bombardier Global XRS that we currently have on offer.  This XRS can comfortably seat thirteen passengers. It has four place club seating with fold out tables in the front part of the cabin, a four place conference group with a dining table for your meetings in the mid cabin and two opposite facing divans that seat 3 people each in the aft cabin. The interior went through a partial refurbish in 2022 and is decked out in white leather. As for your entertainment needs those are covered by two large monitors.

You might be wondering how much does an XRS that can get you from New York to Tokyo in one go cost? A new Bombardier Global Express XRS used to cost around US$ 50 million depending on the configuration of course. Now, if we look at the used market today, the average asking price hovers around US$ 17 million. However, that is subject to a lot of factors such as the state of the jet, its cabin configuration and how many XRS jets are on offer at the given time. The median time a jet spends on market is anywhere from 80 to 120 days, so if you’re in the market for an XRS, you shouldn’t take too long to make an informed decision.

And if you’re looking  for a  Bombardier Global XRS  to purchase, as we’ve already mentioned above, we currently have a model with a seating configuration for 13 on offer. So, don’t hesitate to contact us and we’d be happy to help you with the purchasing process.