The big news this month is undoubtedly the record-breaking order for aircraft placed by VistaJet (see story page 8), which is undertaking this major fleet renewal and expansion programme on the basis of increasing world demand for long-range business charter to far-flung destinations – especially originating from emerging markets where the company has been establishing local connections.

VistaJet is of the opinion that major corporations will increasingly look for the flexibility and low capital outlay of charter, rather than committing to aircraft ownership or buying fractions.

NetJets understandably sees things differently. Its order for new aircraft earlier this year was only a whisker lower in value than that of VistaJet, and belies a firm conviction that fractional ownership is here to stay. With a much larger fleet, now approaching 400 aircraft, and an order backlog even larger than that, they may be on to something.

Despite these major expressions of confidence, those of us tracking new aircraft deliveries more generally will have noticed that the numbers have been flat over the past year or two at best.

But what does all this mean for business aviation in a wider context as we head into another new year?

VistaJet and NetJets may have little in common when it comes to their business models, but they are alike in one important respect, and that is size.

It certainly seems that the largest operators are able to broker good deals on new aircraft purchases and benefit from economies of scale, while smaller ones are finding the current economic situation more taxing. It is also evident that those operators with larger and longer-range aircraft are generally doing rather better than those with light jets. The fact that the economies which are still growing fastest are those which are keen to invest overseas, and that the highest net worth individuals, biggest corpora-tions and national governments are those which still have the budget for business aviation, makes this trend inevitable for the time being.

But these things are cyclical. We will all be hoping for an increase in flight hours across the board during 2013, and those operators picking up new business will be leaner and fitter than ever. So, on behalf of everyone here at EBAN I wish all our readers a very happy and successful new year.

David Wright, Editor