Private jet traffic is soaring to unprecedented levels

Elite take private jets to new highs

[quote=“Simon Bowers, Guardian Unlimited”]Despite unprecedented awareness about the impact of air travel on global warming, aircraft manufacturers forecast worldwide deliveries of new business jets will come close to 10,000 over the next decade - almost double the production rate for the previous 10 years. Adding in very light jets, the forecast rises to about 18,000.

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The latest figures available show 6.9% of European flights recorded by air-traffic control authorities were “business aviation” in 2005, with an estimated 40% flying empty on “positioning flights” to pick up passengers. The number of business jet flights was growing at 8.9% two years ago - twice as fast as the rest of air traffic - and is believed to have accelerated since.

So the point here is that buisiness a/c still will account for less than 10% of all air traffic?? And of the 18,000 jets, how many will be flying every day?? Do you work for the airlines??

Check out the AOPA website for a little info re: some of the same numbers you just found…

aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/ … lines.html

I think perhaps you linked to the wrong article, did you mean to link to an article about FAA funding?

The article I linked to is about how private and charter traffic is increasing dramatically in relation to airline flight activity. It was from the Guardian and the “numbers” are limited to Europe and the United Kingdom. I really don’t see how an article on FAA fees for US operations is related to anything in the article I linked.

From the number of question marks you’ve chosen to employ in your response I can safely assume that the FAA user fee issue is important to you. That’s understandable, but really not related to this topic.

I do not work for an airline. In fact, I work for FlightAware, and we share your opinion on the issue of FAA funding via user fees.

I think it’s interesting that they have to make a global warming connection in the article. Perhaps if they hadn’t virtually destroyed piston aviation in Europe with user fees, those passengers could fly in a modern piston twin for a fraction of the fuel use. It is possible to make one that is as nice as most small jets.

Big government is bad, and the more of it you have the worse it gets. Just look at what the Soviets did to the environment.

Yes, the user fees topic is important to me. Not to the point that I needed to be rude though. It was very late when I wrote that… sorry. The link required a bit of digging I think.

The way corporate aviation was portrayed by your post -I felt- is the same as it is being portrayed in the in flight magazines. If you read the articles in the mags, they make it sound like the ‘elite’ are to blame for all the delays of commercial a/c due to overloading the ATC system and the ‘elite’ are the reason an airline ticket costs so much. I thought it fit here too because now the environment is another reason to poo-poo private jets and their owners. I am not into harming the environment! I guess I couldn’t tell if your post was supposed to be helping or hurting private aviation.

And when did we put a limit on question marks??? Maybe I am really that confused…?? :question: