To describe recent months as remarkable for business aviation would be one of the great understatements.

Although 2021 began slowly for Luxaviation UK, with charter business down for the first five months of the year compared to 2020, bookings then rose dramatically. If you need proof the UK business aviation industry is not just resilient but recovering, we recorded the best results in our history in 3Q21 and the year finished very positively too. Overall, our revenue increased 52 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020, and 21 per cent compared to 2019.

Optimism in the UK business aviation community must not, however, become complacency. There are still Brexit challenges to overcome because no one wins when excessive paperwork delays flight arrangements and raises costs. The UK CAA and Department for Transport, supported by operators and the BBGA, have worked hard to establish bilateral agreements between EU member states and the UK.

Our post-Brexit charter activities have largely continued with very few restrictions. The UK government must continue to push for Fifth Freedom rights (where an operator from one country can fly between two other countries on a flight originating or ending in the operator’s own country) and Seventh Freedom rights (where an operator from one country can fly between two other countries on a flight that does not involve the operator’s own country) with all EU states.

Another subject our industry discusses constantly, in the UK and globally, is sustainability. In 2021, Luxaviation Group launched a number of initiatives and appointed a head of sustainability. We make it part of all of our decision-making; our long term business prospects, and those of our clients, are tied to a sustainable planet. Whatever initiatives we embrace as individual companies, from carbon offset programmes to electric ramp vehicles, we are collectively committed to protecting our environment. Responsible operators consider it in every decision made, actively and relentlessly tackling ‘green’ concerns. Our current and future clients will rightly demand such commitment if we want to keep their business.

Across the UK industry, we certainly hope to keep the new clients who began flying in business jets during the pandemic, often attracted by the health benefits compared to commercial airline travel. Historically, our industry has undercharged to win business for over 20 years, but pent up demand when COVID-19 travel restrictions eased in 2021 meant we were able to charge prices that more realistically reflected our costs. The fact new clients have entered our industry at these price levels, rather than at misleadingly discounted levels, provides hope these clients will stay with us.

Even in the ‘new normal’, we can offer many of the established ‘old normal’ reasons to fly to the UK this summer, including the British Formula One Grand Prix at Silverstone in July and the 150th British Open golf championship at St Andrews in Scotland.

We have continued to expand our charter fleet since the outbreak of the pandemic, adding a Cessna Citation II light jet (G-SPUR) in January 2022. We also added a Bombardier Global 6500 this March, able to reach locations such as the west coast of the US and Singapore from the UK – no other operator is currently offering a UK-based Global 6500 for charter. We will also be introducing a Bombardier Challenger 604 to our managed fleet this May.

Most of the aircraft in our diverse fleet are UK-registered on our AOC but we also operate aircraft registered in jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands and Aruba. Having access to other European AOCs through our sister Luxaviation Group companies in Denmark, Malta and San Marino allows us to cater for the needs of any aircraft owner. In fact, the Challenger 604 I just mentioned will be registered in San Marino.

Indeed, throughout the crises of the past two years, we have taken confidence from being part of Luxaviation Group. Although many small operators globally have performed admirably to survive the economic impacts of the pandemic to date, large companies have undoubtedly found benefits and resilience in their size and deep financial resources.

So, what happens now? Rising fuel prices and international political instability are challenges but, at Luxaviation UK, our charter activity so far in 2022 is exceeding pre-COVID levels and we hope our UK counterparts are enjoying similar success. Business in the first two months of this year is up 35 per cent on the same period in 2019. Our sales executives are now talking to clients about long haul holidays and business trips that simply weren’t viable this time in 2021. After two harrowing years, the UK business aviation industry is looking at a summer in which charter demand exceeds supply.