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Global 7500 over Sydney Harbour
Global 7500 over Sydney Harbour
Bizjets Must Embrace Sustainability
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While the industry has thrived during COVID, it must now reduce and offset its emissions as we move into 2022
AS 2021 draws to a close, after a highly unpredictable 18+ months, there is global consensus that vaccinations enable countries and economies to reopen as they reduce the likelihood of a nation’s health system being overwhelmed. Through a business aviation lens, what does this mean for Australians and air travel in 2022? I spoke with Paul Wauchope, sales director for Australia & New Zealand at Bombardier Aircraft, for his insights.
NBAA-BACE
October’s National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) is a helpful starting point to consider business aviation as it saw the global industry convene for the first time in over two years. The overwhelming sentiment at the show was one of buoyancy. Two years ago the business aviation industry was telling travellers that it was a viable alternative to the airlines – over the last 18 months it has been delivering this, with US and European charter operators enjoying some of their busiest months in history.
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While the industry was economically confident, it also united around a central theme of sustainability. In recognising that while business aviation has in some ways benefited from the pandemic, the industry also realises it must demonstrate its own standalone viability through reducing and offsetting emissions to net zero or better. NBAA-BACE was not only a carbon neutral event but presented solutions such as sustainability accreditation programs and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) strategies for the broader industry to consider and implement following some of the larger. Bombardier Aviation also made history as the first manufacturer to provide an externally verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) statement for its Flagship Global 7500 and recently released Challenger 3500. Wauchope remarked that “there will be more accountability towards sustainability with the use of SAF, SAF buy-&-book, carbon offsets, and EPDs from manufacturers. All of these will be scrutinised to granular levels when publicly listed companies or governments wish to upgrade or purchase a BizJet in 2022”.
Australia
It is an exciting time for business aviation as the sector continues to prove itself as an accessible alternative to airline flights in Australia as well. For travellers, the benefits of schedule assuredness (and flexibility), ease of travel, and reduced passenger density have been important factors in choosing to fly privately. For operators and brokers, technology and apps enable faster, easier, and more transparent bookings, inquiries, and communications. For investors and buyers, temporary tax offsets allow the full expensing of new equipment and assets, incentivising aircraft upgrades. Holistically, the industry is benefiting from a broader awareness and maturity of private aviation as an economical and accessible tool – enticing operators to deploy charter aircraft to service this demand and helping to overcome a historical stigma that private air travel is elitist.
2022+
Wauchope’s view on 2022 is that “by March next year we should expect to see travellers back in the skies, aircrew re-trained and current, borders reopened, vaccination milestones exceeded, and rapid COVID-19 testing available. We might not get back to pre-2020 normal, but we will see a new normal – one that features business aviation as an increasingly realistic and common travel option”.
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