It just goes to show that however entrepreneurial and innovative the aviation industry can be, it can also be slow to embrace change, especially when there is a market opportunity staring it in the face.
Take the premium international business travel market for instance. Surely it shouldn't need a complaint by GE supremo Jack Welch that he did not want to travel about in a business jet resembling a long tube to get a new generation of roomy corporate-configured airliners like the Boeing Business Jet and Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ) off the ground?
The grounding of Concorde, however, seems to have been the most recent catalyst for airlines and business aircraft operators to look afresh at whether there is a gap in the market for an all-first-class luxury point-to-point business travel solution.
Now, thanks to Qatar Airways' order for two ACJs configured with 36 first-class seats, this market could be about to open up, bridging the gulf between the corporate jet and commercial airliner for premium-paying passengers. Other airlines, notably in Europe, may be about to follow suit, with Air France and British Airways possible candidates as they endeavour to protect their "special case" supersonic travellers by seeking a bespoke service combining speed with luxury door-to-door delivery.
And everyone can benefit. Those prepared to pay a premium to be whisked on to an aircraft with a minimum 80in seat pitch and sleeper seat availability, and delivered direct and seamlessly to the destination of choice, free of delays and time-consuming hub airport check-in and baggage handling procedures, win on all counts. Meanwhile, the airlines get to add a new dimension to their business base, fuelling demand for luxury travel and improving yields.
But most significant of all is the stimulus this new market could give the entire industry. If Qatar Airways' move spurs on other airlines, a new travel pattern in air transport could emerge, with consequences on airliner development and planning. Ironically, Airbus' landmark ACJ order from Qatar underpins the very air transport market segmentation argument espoused by Boeing, which believes point-to-point travel will outstrip hub-to-hub trunk routes in the long term.
By bringing globetrotting "business jet jumbos" into their inventories, airlines will also feed the business aviation sector as passengers develop a taste for point-to-point travel and realise the productivity gains it brings. And converting a fare-paying airline passenger into a business jet charter customer, fractional or otherwise, can only be good for the industry.
You don't have to own or run a business jet to fly in one, as fractional ownership programmes and online charter initiatives show. Adding them to airline fleets completes the business mix and increases their acceptability.
It may be that airlines run shy of taking a bold step like Qatar Airways has, fearing that by introducing business jets, they may lose the first-class passengers which underpin their yields. But with business aviation booming, airlines need to confront the challenge of speed, comfort and efficiency if they are not to lose their premium passengers altogether.
What is certain is that if they do not step up to the challenge, others will. Business jet operators are already offering scheduled services to premium customers in some parts of the USA. Reporting a groundswell of enquiries from charter operators about business aircraft availability following Concorde's grounding, business aircraft builders at last week's NBAA underlined the transformation of business air travel which is set to run its course over the coming decade.
And even with new luxury transatlantic business travel entrants like the ACJ and BBJ, plus a host of super-fast jets like the Cessna Citation X and Gulfstream V, the business case for a supersonic business jet to succeed Concorde is as strong as ever. "Even if one didn't exist, it would still need to be invented," said one company executive. The authors of a 1997 forecast indicating a demand for 100 supersonic business jets without overland certification and 225 with, say the numbers still hold true. If that isn't a case for luxury travel, then what is? Airlines: take note.
Source: Flight International
