No other European country can boast the growth that Malta has achieved in its aviation register, says Stanley Bugeja, managing director, DC Aviation Limited.
Stanley BugejaThere is a general acknowledgement that Malta needs to attract higher quality visitors. Does DC Aviation form part of this effort?
DC Aviation’s scope is to provide high quality aerodrome services to business aircraft flying into Malta. We have always been at the forefront of promoting Malta as a high quality destination for discerning travellers. We are one of the few dedicated business aviation-handling companies. We acknowledge the needs of such travellers and specifically cater for them by giving specialised training to our employees and investing in executive equipment and facilities.
When was DC Aviation set up and with what aims?
Set up in 2008, DC Aviation Malta is a subsidiary of DC Aviation GmbH, the largest business jet operator in Germany and among the largest operators in Europe. DC Aviation is present in Germany, Switzerland, Moscow, Dubai and Malta operating more than 25 business jets from corporate Airbus 319 to Bombardier Learjet 60.
DC Aviation acknowledges the fact that Malta is fast becoming an important player in the business aviation industry and already in 2008 wanted to play an active role in the development of the industry in Malta. Together with BizAv Services and FF Legal we formed the Malta Business Aviation Association, which is also represented with a member on the board of governors of the European Business Aviation Association. The Maltese association has in excess of 30 members.
What inbound services do you offer?
The nature of business aviation is such that the customer designs the service and not vice versa. In fact, 98 per cent of all city pairs operated by business jet aircraft are not offered by scheduled airlines. We offer charter flights to Malta from any airport worldwide for any number of executive travellers and provide them with executive services in Malta on arrival and departure similar to the levels of services that they are used in other cities such as London, Geneva, Milan, Stuttgart and Moscow.
We still have some challenges in Malta such as the lack of a general aviation terminal and the liberalisation of business aircraft handling. However successive governments have recognised the importance of the industry and have offered and continue to offer their support.
What growth has DC Aviation experienced in recent years?
In our first year at Malta International Airport, we handled in excess of 200 business jets flying into Malta, while in 2014 we handled in excess of 500 business jets. We employed four people in 2008 and now we are a total of 12 full-time and part-time employees. As Malta continues to play an important role in the European business aviation sector and despite the uncertain economic scenario of the EU, Malta seems to continue to thrive and we expect further growth in the business aviation sector.
Today we have in excess of 25 operator companies licenced in Malta and a register with more than 100 business jets
Malta already has a sound legal framework, our bilingual workforce is becoming more skilled and with diligence we can grow this industry to further support the economic development of the country. DC Aviation Malta continues to invest in its workforce and infrastructure of the organisation to cater for this growth and making Malta more attractive. We also participate in a number of exhibitions such as EBACE in Geneva on a regular basis and in view of my role on the board of the European Business Aviation Association, I never miss an opportunity to promote the industry in Malta among my fellow colleagues.
What advantages does Malta’s geographical position offer for private jet charters?
Back in 2008, the Maltese aviation register consisted only of the national airline, some general aviation aircraft, one business jet and Medavia’s fleet. Today we have in excess of 25 operator companies licenced in Malta and a register with more than 100 business jets. No other European country can boast of such a growth.
Our geographical position is hardly relevant although not insignificant and there are pros and cons to it. The success to the growth of the industry can be attributed to a number of things and when combined give Malta the competitive edge. The Malta business aviation association motto is ‘Malta open for business’. The efficiency by which one can operate a charter operator licence in Malta is probably the best in Europe. The Civil Aviation Directorate, although it has it challenges in view of this exponential growth, continues to deliver prompt and excellent service to these operators. Malta is a low tax EU jurisdiction which is beneficial to the owners and operators of these business aircraft. As mentioned earlier the bi-lingual and highly educated workforce also benefit this industry.
We are not yet exploiting our geographical position to its utmost. Malta has one of the last remaining 24-hour airports, we have fair weather pretty much throughout the year, and we could serve as an excellent fuel stop for business aircraft doing long distance flights. That said the challenge is to make our presence known to the community and secondly to be able to deliver the service required for a quick turnaround. Unfortunately when we come to fuelling of business jets we still have a long way to go.
Are private jets usually chartered for business or leisure purposes?
As in scheduled airlines the use of business jets is a mix of business and leisure. However from our experience the majority of business jet use is, as the name implies, related to business. In an ever globalised market where a business to remain competitive has to continually seek new markets and structures to make their product more efficient and attractive, the business needs to travel often and for long distances.
Most of us have experienced international flights and how time consuming these can be: you need at least two hours before your flight at the airport, at least another hour at your arrival airport and as much as three hours to get to your end destination by car if you don’t even have to make a connecting flight. For the corporations that pay their executives serious money this is unproductive time, especially for remote and peripheral destinations.
As I had the opportunity to mention last month at a conference held in Malta about business aviation, Malta is very well served if you want to come to Malta for a holiday of a week from most major European cities. That said if you are businessperson whose principal place of business or residence is not in one of these cities then you have a problem and even if you hail from one of these cities, try making a same day return to/from Malta. This when the business jet makes a lot of sense. It gives the opportunity to these executives to significantly reduce their downtime and even go to more than one destination within the same day, thus giving their shareholders more productivity.
As Malta continues to attract more high net worth individuals and companies to our shores and so will the need for business jet flights to and from Malta.
What growth in the private jet charter market do you foresee in the near future?
I believe in a bright and sustainable growth for the industry. As the Maltese economy continues to grow so does the need for business aviation. Likewise as Malta continues to become an important jurisdiction which is business aviation friendly, so will the activity managed from Malta continue to grow. This gives room for more ancillary services to be provided from Malta. In fact, we are already seeing a growth in maintenance organisations setting up in Malta as well as flight operations support companies. Training companies and aviation training previously unavailable on the island is also starting to be offered on the island. All this augurs well for the growth of the business aviation economic activity.