Air Partner trading manager for group charter UK Jon Cavalli has taken a look back at the group's commercial jets activity in 2018, and comments on what he expects to see in 2019.

2018 was a strong year for sport bookings for the company, largely as a result of the FIFA World Cup in Russia. “These consisted of both team and supporter flights from a number of global departure points, including several in Europe and some as far away as South America,” he says. “In addition, the demand for pre-season tours continues to grow as more and more teams incorporate these into their training regimens.”

In many cases, distances flown are becoming longer and he believes this should continue into 2019. Currently the USA is very popular and China increasingly so, despite its logistical challenges. “2019 will see the Rugby World Cup take place in Japan with matches hosted in 12 cities, culminating in the final in Yokohama on 2 November. Despite the distance, our commercial jets and group travel departments are expecting strong demand from both supporters and corporates.”

As for meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE), Air Partner bookings are up around 20 per cent year-on-year. Clients are travelling to a more varied range of destinations than ever before as event organisers look for new experiences, and his team has booked charters to 153 different locations worldwide. Rome, Paris and Milan are the most requested among clients, but it has also flown passengers to more unusual destinations such as Azerbaijan and Russia. “We are also seeing a growing trend towards long-haul destinations. A prime example is Vietnam, which offers numerous world class convention centres with state of the art MICE facilities. I believe we will continue to see clients head further afield in 2019, as well as increased MICE activity overall.”

Over the peak summer months, Cavalli witnessed a steeper decline in the availability of short haul economy aircraft than usual, due to the high demand around the FIFA World Cup. This has led to groups starting to charter VIP airliners, such as the Boeing 737-300, which in the past have predominantly been used by HNWIs and sports teams. “We expect this trend to grow steadily in 2019 and beyond, with increasing numbers of VIP airliners coming to the market all the time,” he adds.

As Brexit looms, he says full details of how this is going to impact the aviation industry are yet to emerge. “Our advice to clients is to get in touch with their dedicated account manager if they have any queries about the impact that Brexit may have on aircraft charters, whether this is domestically, within Europe or further afield,” he says. “For Air Partner, the client relationship is about more than just arranging and delivering aircraft charters. It's about working closely with our clients so we can provide advice and extend the benefit of our experience in handling any circumstances that may affect their travel plans.”

After a fruitful 2018, Air Partner's group charter division looks forward to the year ahead.