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2013 Event Schedule

Rotary Operations Conference (ROC) 2013 - 12 June - London Heliport

MIU Events, in association with Barclays London Heliport, will be staging a one day event -the Rotary Operations Conference (ROC) - on 12 June at the London Heliport.

The event is timed just ahead of the Paris Airshow and will provide attendees with an insight into the latest developments and initiatives within the industry. The new generation of helicopters will be more efficient and provide greater flexibility and economies in terms of operational costs. ROC will investigate whether some of the design innovations offer a realistic option in terms of providing helicopter metro city links and, in light of the recent crash at Vauxhall, what safety concerns should be addressed when helicopters operate in city centres.

Additionally, we will examine the role of the helicopter as a business efficiency tool and the attitude of Government and regulatory bodies to the use of helicopters in metro areas. We will also have a look at the impact of new design models, interlining jets with helicopters, maintenance issues, some views from the OEMs on how they see missions evolving, customer priorities and we will invite operators to join a panel to discuss some of the thorny issues affecting day to day operations and how to consolidate and sustain operations when the European economy is looking decidedly dodgy.

The event will be supported by a small exhibition and there will be various networking opportunities throughout the day. The event will culminate in an evening reception on the veranda of the adjoining Verta hotel, where attendees can enjoy hospitality, network with industry colleagues in convivial surroundings and look across the heliport and down the River Thames on a pleasant June evening in central London.

Business Aircraft Europe (BAE) 2013 - 11/12 September - Biggin Hill, UK

Business Aircraft Europe will take place on 11/12 September 2013 and will be expanded to take over the entire main hangar at Biggin Hill with the static display moving indoors and a new layout to include aircraft, exhibition stands and a demonstration area. The format from 2012 with specialist seminars will be repeated and will be supported with a variety of networking events. The Rizon Jet evening networking reception is now called the "Rizon Lifestyle Event" and will include cars from leading distributors, luxury lifestyle brands and a variety of promotional highlights through the evening.

The 2012 event was staged in association with BBGA and featured a variety of seminars covering all aspects of business aviation from operator activities through to supplier issues. The formal seminars were supported with an aftershow party hosted by Rizon Jet and the event overall saw many of Europe's leading movers and shakers meet and exchange ideas and thoughts on how the market will unfold in the future.

BAE is now the leading European event for the Autumn calendar and the 2012 event saw over 500 visitors attend over the two days. BAE 2012 led to an interesting debate amongst the operators on who was the most resilient and there was a general consensus that some form of consolidation was inevitable. The same theme was echoed on Day 2 when the charter brokers met and underlined just how tough the going was in the current market.

Despite the rather gloomy outlook from European operators and brokers there were some positive elements with certain aircraft types, notably the Embraer Phenom 300, having a good year and traffic to Russia, Middle East and Asia holding up well. Additionally, the US was reported to have made a comeback and transatlantic operators had seen an improved level of business.

Day 1 ended with a reception hosted by Rizon Jet at their state of the art FBO facility. A spectacular aerial display from the Biggin based Spitfire, Spirit of Kent, sizzled along the flightline and then rolled into the Rizon Jet hangar to spontaneous applause, to become the hangar centrepiece surrounded by luxury and high end brands including Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Asprey, Bremont watches, The Mayfair Hotel, London and a selection of business jets.

Indian Business Aviation Expo (IBAE) 2014 - 25/26 February - New Delhi

The 4th Indian Business Aviation Expo (IBAE) will be staged once again in Delhi. The 2012 event saw a 40% increase in delegate attendance over the previous year, a clear testament to the growing importance of the sector. Those assembled at the 2012 event heard from many of the country's business aviation leaders, who told us that the business jet fleet had expanded from 55 in 2007 to 150 in 2011. The current GA industry in India is valued at $220 million and is expected to be worth $320 million by 2017.

India is currently the 9th largest aviation market in the world, but is expected to become 3rd largest by 2017 (based on passenger numbers). India has 449 airports with only 100 of them operational. The Indian Gover nment has pledged to invest $14.65 billion in airports and associated infrastructure by 2017, including $1.5 billion set aside for non-metro airports.

According to the DGCA there are 800 small aircraft and 300 helicopters in India, with the expectation that 1000 further aircraft will be added to the fleet by 2020. However, there was general agreement that infrastructure to support GA was a priority with metro airports needing to upgrade facilities to support GA and the Business Aviation community. Rohit Kapur, head of the Business Aircraft Operators Association, provided a shopping list to illustrate what was needed as a minimum for the industry to develop – alternate GA airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Agra and Goa; Metro cities to have 2/3 heliports; 20 FBOs to cover major operational airfields; develop 100 non operational airstrips across the country for GA use.

Jose Eduardo Costas, VP- Sales & Marketing, Embraer Asia Pacific anticipates the business jet market wor ldwide 2012 -2021, will be worth $260 billion (units 11,275) if expected GDP growth levels are met, or $205 billion (units 8,660) if there is a downturn. Asia Pacific will take an increasing share of the market with anticipated sales of between 1363 to 1690 aircraft, with India accounting for 390 to 485 units ($10-12billion). The important element in this is economic growth, with India’s GDP growth set to outperform world and Asian rates over the coming years, as well as emerging c ountries such as China and Brazil. India’s economy is expected to overtake Germany by 2025.

Interestingly, India’s HNWI are growing the fastest of any country, with the number of $ billionaires at 55, ahead of the UK. China has 115 $ billionaires, which is more than Europe!

However, there were various speakers who cautioned against too much optimism with current punitive tax and regulatory restrictions acting as a brake on growth.

Chief guest, Naveen Jindal, Member of Parliament and head of Jindal Steel, pledged his support to the industry but recounted some of the frustrations and petty bureaucracy he had encountered whilst operating his company's aircraft which were essential to his business and the future prosperity of India.

Kapil Kaul, CEO of leading analysts, CAPA, was critical of inaction from the executive branch saying little had happened since last year's event in terms of simplifying the regulatory environment, but does believe that the Light Jet category of aircraft will prove particularly popular in India. The number of GA operators has now grown to 150, with many favouring the light jet.

MRO is also a growth business, with Hawker Beechcraft suggesting the industry could be worth $2.5 billion by 2020 if regulations and administrat ion are simplified and access to spare parts is speeded up.

There was general agreement that regulatory process in India is complex, bureaucratic and slow to change, with too many Ministries involved in the process of owning and operating aircraft. GA also takes a back seat to commercial operations, so much still needs to be done to lobby Government and promote the interests of those gathered at IBAE 2012.

With over 50 members now, the Business Aircraft Operators Association, has some serious clout and delegates were urged to join with the Association in pushing for change and to help the executive and legislative branch better understand the role of Business Aviation in nation building.

Singapore Private Aircraft Conference and Expo (SPACE) 2014 - 17-18 April - Singapore

The Private Jet market worldwide, 2014 – 2021 is worth $260 billion representing 11,275 aircraft and Asia Pacific is expected to take an increasing share of the cake with sales of between 1363 to 1690 units over the same period. If the US and Europe continue to have economic woes the value of the worldwide market will decrease, but Asia is expected to remain solid with $40 billion in private jet sales expected over the next 10 years, regardless of factors elsewhere. The significant trend in Asia is that buyers prefer new jets and there is virtually no pre-owned market and so this represents a high value region from the perspective of the OEMs.

Historically, there has been a reluctance for the authorities in Asia to embrace private aircraft, with China for example, as recently as 2003, outlawing ownership. Additionally, poor infrastructure and high airport taxes have worked against private aircraft ownership and operation.  However, the mindset of the authorities is changing and although we can expect further turbulence, there are signs of clouds lifting and clear skies ahead!

In recognition of the emergence of the market in Singapore and elsewhere in the region, MIU events is joining with the Singapore Yacht Show, in staging the 2nd SPACE conference, April 17-18, 2014, a dedicated event for the private jet and helicopter market. The Private Jet conference will run concurrently with the Asia Pacific Super Yacht conference and delegates registering for the event can attend either conference or a combination of sessions. The event will be staged at the Marina Club at Sentosa Cove and delegates will enjoy complementary access to the Singapore Yacht show which runs concurrently and this year will feature a private aircraft exhibition pavillion. There will be any number of social events throughout the show and a spectacular gala dinner on the evening of Thursday, 17April.

The event is very much geared to the interests of the region and will provide a detailed insight into ownership models, market forecasts, the do’s and dont's of purchasing private aircraft, funding options, potential pitfalls, aircraft management and maintenance options, regulatory considerations, charter options, aircraft types and mission planning. We will also address the scope and nature of the market in Asia for private aviation, both fixed wing and rotary, and set this in the context of private aircraft usage globally.

The Private Jet show will be supported by an exhibition featuring those who operate, supply and support private aviation and will stage a lifestyle evening reception where attendees can relax and network surrounded by high end lifestyle brands.