Peter Hartmann, Managing Director of ExecuJet Europe, kindly agreed to answer some questions for JETS.ru and said Russia has become an area of vast growth over the last few years within the aviation industry. The demand for this office was of high priority within ExecuJet’s expansion plans and it’s worked really well.

Why was it seen necessary to open a representative office in Russia?

Russia has become an area of vast growth over the last few years within the aviation industry. The demand for this office was of high priority within ExecuJet’s expansion plans and it’s worked really well. Russia has the highest growth within Europe and ExecuJet is currently operating 11 aircraft in Moscow. In 2007 we had just two supervisors based at the airports to look after our customer requirements on-site. We have since opened a representative office in Moscow with a current workforce of seven employees. This location allows us to be more flexible in serving our clients needs without dealing with all requests out of the Zurich office.

What share of total flights do flights with Russian clients hold?

Within our European charter fleet approximately 25% of flights are conducted by Russian clients. However, this is a market of extreme growth and therefore changes regularly. We expect there will be an increase to this figure in the coming years once the present crisis is overcome.

Has there been a drop of demand for charter flights in the time of economic crisis? If so, by how much?

It is apparent that the financial crisis is affecting most industries worldwide including business aviation. The beginning of 2008 saw a slight increase in demand compared to this period last year. The request for light Jets slowed after September as it became apparent that customers and especially companies had to make immediate cut backs on their travel expenditure. Although the demand for large aircraft did not initially slowdown, even this market has recently decreased. No one can really foresee what will happen and how long it will last, but we are prepared. Even with the slowdown in charter ExecuJet still offers a wide range of services that maintain our position within the market. The recent opening of our FBO in Berlin and new office in Moscow clearly indentifies the high demand we are experiencing in Europe.

What is the strategic task of ExecuJet on the Russian market?

The ExecuJet office in Moscow was mainly established due to the company’s commitment to providing the highest possible service to our client base in Russia. The closeness to these clients helps us to enhance our customer service to fulfil all our clients’ needs. The positioning of the new office also allows us to scrutinise all pre-owned aircraft sales possibilities in Russia and to keep a close eye on the Russian charter market. We plan that in time this will also lead to the acquaintance of potential clients.

What new services is ExecuJet planning to release to the market?

We have just opened our new completions management showroom, located at our headquarters in Zurich. Clients are now invited to visit the showroom to specify their aircraft interiors and carefully select all finishes. It becomes an accessible way for the customers to see the full range of interiors offered by the ExecuJet completions management team who then visually display the proposed interior on a large plasma screen by using computer aided design software. Previously our completions representatives have been travelling to clients all over the world carrying large cases of samples, but this showroom offers a far wider variety enabling the interiors to be planned on site and in comfort.