Germany’s Engel & Völkers has expanded its portfolio to include the brokerage of business aircraft and private jets worldwide. 

The new business division, Engel & Völkers Aviation, will specialise in aircraft sales and charter. 

“Engel & Völkers clients are wealthy, with sophisticated demands and expectations. They lead luxury lifestyles and enjoy travelling – both for business and pleasure. We are seeing a growing need for this service amongst our real estate and yachting clients. This opens up significant opportunities for our company and means that we can now offer customers even more services from one single source,” says Christian Völkers, founder and Co-CEO of Engel & Völkers.


CUSTOMISED AIR TRAVEL AND CONSULTANCY

The new division will offer clients personally tailored charter flights around the world via its website. The portfolio ranges from small propeller aircraft through to large super jets. 

With access to a pool of around 4,000 planes on its own booking platform, Engel & Völkers Aviation offers clients access to a worldwide charter fleet of private and business aircraft. In addition to aircraft charter for individual trips and aircraft trading, the company is also brokering business and private aircraft for long-term charter and through fractional ownership schemes. Moreover, the business division provides comprehensive consulting on legal and taxation issues, aircraft management, structured finance as well as risk management and insurance.

The E&V Aviation division is headed by Bart Boury as CEO, who has many decades of experience working in the aviation industry. 


PRICING SCOPE

Prices for business aircraft charter and acquisition vary greatly. A short-range turboprop aircraft costs approximately $2 million (€1.8 million) and has an hourly charter rate of €850 ($967). For a Light Jet buyers must figure on investing between $4.5-8.9 million (€4-7.9 million) and with an hourly charter fee between €1,250 and $2,000 ($1,422 and $2,275) 

When it comes to ‘midsize jets’, prices vary from $11.5 to 17.5 million (€10.3 to 15.6 million), where such a jet can be chartered for an hourly rate ranging from €2,250 to $5,500 ($2,559 to $6,257) per flight hour, transporting ten people to destinations of up to 3,000 to 4,000 km away. 

Acquisition of a long-range large cabin jet or ‘bizliner’ costs up to $60 million dollars (€53.5 million) and up to €15,000 per hour on an all-in charter basis.


TRENDS

Companies are increasingly using business flight charters or entering into ownership of their own company jets, as this option can sometimes be less costly than booking large teams on scheduled flights, the company points out.

Another key aspect is the more efficient use of managers’ valuable time that comes with private jets. Wealthy holidaymakers and second home owners are also flying more and more by private jet, enabling them to reach exclusive and often exotic holiday destinations by direct flight. The demand for private and business flights amongst affluent clients is correspondingly high, it says.

According to Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, the number of business aircraft and private jets in use worldwide is growing all the time and will continue to do so. Bombardier forecasts that the fleet of around 15,200 aircrafts in the year 2013 will have risen to around 32,450 by 2033 (only, light, medium and large jets are taken into account). 

“After the worldwide economic slump, the business and private jet industry is progressing well on a prolonged and gradual recovery from the steep industry downturn of 2009-2010,” says Bart. However, in Boury’s view, the long-term market drivers of business jet industry growth remain solid: the global economy and wealth creation. 

According to a study by the consultancy firm IHS Global Insight, global GDP (gross domestic product) growth is expected to increase by an average of 3.2 percent per annum over the next 20 years. The growing number of billionaires is also contributing to growth, as a significant number of billionaires uses or owns private or business aircrafts. 

According to Forbes magazine, there were 1,826 people worldwide in 2015 with a fortune of at least $1 billion. In 2014, there were 1,645 billionaires.

“Nevertheless, the global market of business and private jet use varies geographically as each region is in a different stage,” says Boury. The majority of buyers and charter clients are based in North America, followed by Europe. New demand is also emerging as a result of increased prosperity in more and more countries. In recent years this has seen clients from China, the Middle East and South America join the fray. In addition to companies, more and more entrepreneurs, business magnates, and high-net-worth individuals are choosing to own an aircraft or make use of a charter service. 

“Our entry to the aviation market comes at just the right time. Our global network in 39 countries and our uncompromising level of professionalism will help us to enter into this new market very quickly,” Völkers concludes.

Engel & Völkers is one of the world’s leading service companies specialised in the sale and rental of premium residential property, commercial real estate, yachts and aircrafts

The company is currently operating in 39 countries on five continents.