Austria-based Citation Mustang operator GlobeAir has provided the services of its aircraft to participants of exclusive supercar event The Run To Monaco.

During this year's run, 30 drivers and their co-drivers made their way from London to Monaco in time for the Grand Prix on May 26, a journey of approximately 1,500km. With GlobeAir as official private jet partner, contestants were able to fly onwards after the Grand Prix from nearby St Tropez, an airport typically inaccessible to traditional airlines and other business jets, aboard GlobeAir's Mustangs.

Mauro de Rosa, cmo, says: “We were excited to be part of such an exhilarating, high profile event. There's a strong synergy between our two companies, and we at GlobeAir share many values with the participants.

“We believe this event is a unique opportunity for like-minded people to meet and share their passion, something we ourselves get to do in our work every day, and we were given the opportunity to offer our services to facilitate travel for participants.

“Although The Run to Monaco is the only motor industry event that GlobeAir will attend this year, 2013 is another active year – our company will be involved in all sorts of events from lifestyle to sailing,” de Rosa adds.

GlobeAir believes that a sponsorship such as that of The Run to Monaco offers it a great opportunity to be in contact with a group of prospective customers that share a similar lifestyle and passion. Says marketing manager Saskia Mehring: “We are of course expecting and hoping to gain a solid amount of business from a sponsorship like this, however, the return on investment is not simple to calculate immediately. The real value lies within the relationship you build with the customers over the years and not in selling just one single flight to them.”

The run's founder and ceo Chris Welch adds: “Bringing a private aviation partner into the mix offers us the possibility to provide an extra element of luxury, which our participants expect from us.”

GlobeAir founder and ceo Bernhard Fragner believes a shift in the charter market towards very light jets has worked in the company's favour and is the reason why it ended last year on a high. “We bet on the right horse at the right time,” he says. “For our future the shift in the charter market means we will base our sales strategy on expert views, such as that of Richard Koe from WINGX, as well as the expectation that the charter market will continue to change in our favour.”

WINGX provides intelligence on business aviation and managing director Koe reveals: “We have taken a look at the VLJ and a peer group of light jets, in terms of fleet development and flight activity since 2008, and several highlights show up. Across this fleet, VLJs have increased their share of activity by almost 10 times in the last five years, even while overall European charter activity has subsided since 2008.”