Oct. 24, 2018
The latest survey conducted by The Harris Poll demonstrates the clear value of business aviation’s ability to provide an efficient form of air transportation to companies of all sizes, particularly those located in small communities that have little to no access to commercial airline service.
The consensus from the survey – “The Real World of Business Aviation: 2018 Survey of Companies Using General Aviation Aircraft” – is that business aviation works to make companies run more efficiently and keep communities connected when commercial airline service is not an option.
- Most companies using business aviation are small companies and most have only one aircraft. For example, 57 percent of pilots surveyed said that their company employs 500 people or fewer and 62 percent said their company operates one aircraft.
Many business aviation aircraft are flown mainly to towns with little or no airline service. Pilots said that more than 42 percent of their destinations are airports with infrequent or no scheduled airline service, and that about 31 percent of their flights in the past year were to destinations that have never had commercial air service available to them.- Business aviation also increases productivity for employees. Passengers on business aircraft spend, on average, 63 percent of their time in the air working, compared to just 42 percent on commercial flights. Additionally, more than 40 percent of trips included more than one destination, allowing for more stops in a day and enabling companies to function more efficiently.
- Business aviation also supports humanitarian missions, and in the past year, 38 percent of pilots say they have flown humanitarian missions. The pilots reported flying an average of three humanitarian missions per year.
For the survey, The Harris Poll conducted more than 200 interviews of pilots, flight department managers and directors of flight operations or aviation, with more than 250 interviews among passengers on business aircraft.