There has been gloom and doom in the news headlines for so long now that it is tempting to think that the economic doldrums will never end.

But, of course, history tells us that these things are cyclical. And there will be business opportunities for those companies that correctly predict the upturn and invest at the right moment.

There are some encouraging signs around. The latest figures from the online charter booking system Avinode indicate that charter rates have been recovering during the past three months. The average of 36 Challenger 604s is up from e4,771 per hour to e5,145, while even at the lower size segment a CJ2 is up from e1,716 to e1,748. This will come as some relief for all jet charter operators.

The large and long range sector, whose exploits we feature in detail in this issue, have generally been less affected by recession, and operators in the Middle East seem still to be growing more strongly than those in Europe.

For example, Royal Jet's total number of flying hours in summer 2012 across its entire fleet was up 19 per cent compared with the same season last year and follows the best Q1 performance in the company's history, which saw a 15 per cent increase in revenue over the same period last year.

While the UK, Switzerland, France, Germany and Saudi Arabia remain the top destinations for Royal Jet's customers, there has been an increase in trips to the US and Asia as well.

The highest increase in flying hours was for the company's BBJs which rose by 25 per cent, remaining the top choice for customers, accounting for almost three-quarters of all flying hours.

Even in Europe, Twinjet reports that its A319CJ has been flying a record number of charter hours. In June it had its busiest month to date and has flown 96 hours and 34 sectors.

There are geographical bright spots as well. In-flight dining provider Alison Price On Air says it has noticed a significant growth in demand from clients travelling to Russia over the past 12 months.

We can only hope that high profile failures, such as VLJ specialists JetReady in Spain, are behind us, and it is time to consider placing our bets. David Wright Editor