Central and eastern European aircraft operators have commented on their current business activity and what they feel the key areas for development are in their regions, ahead of the fourth CEPA (Central European Private Aviation) Expo in November. A number of operators cite Russia and Ukraine as key markets in the current climate.

Maciej Matuszewsk of Warsaw based FlyJet says: “The Russian and Ukrainian markets in particular are quite strong at this time and the local clients definitely prefer bigger aircraft. However, in comparison to last year, we have recently felt a much stronger effort on the part of the clients and brokers to negotiate on price and request discounts.”

Sales manager of Bratislava-based Opera Jet Martina Jakubova adds: “Two thirds of our clients are Russian customers. They are satisfied with the type of aircraft our company offers and they are usually interested in flying in between Russia and central Europe.”

Statistics from the past two years show that there was a total of 1,422 business jet and turboprop aircraft in the central European Union, which includes Germany with 685, Switzerland with 300 and Austria with 270. There were 58 aircraft in the Czech Republic, 42 in Poland, 25 in Slovenia, 19 in Slovakia and 15 in Hungary.

The market was dominated by light jets and turboprop operators had an average of three aircraft. Dagmar Grossmann, ceo of Prague-based operator Grossmann Jet Service, sums up the central European market more generally: “Recently many manufacturers have placed representatives into each of the central European countries, which shows that there is a huge potential in the new aircraft market as well as for the pre-owned.

“At the same time, the external speed of cultural growth enables the market to grow due to the fact that more and more people see the business jet as a serious alternative to other modes of transport. This acceptance is very important and is the base of future business in the region. The growth of commerce in the region is still relatively young and therefore there is a huge opportunity for it to be transformed into the perfect environment for healthy and new business for operators.”

This year the CEPA Expo in Prague will look at the synergies between commercial and business aviation and the things that business sectors can learn from each other.