How the Brexit will affect private aviation and charter prices in 2021
Since January 1st, 2021, the United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Union. The recent concretisation of the 1,500-page long Brexit agreement on the 31st December 2020 has several consequences on the private jet charter industry, that include more restrictions and paperwork to obtain flight authorisation, as well as new requirements to fly in or out of the UK by private jet with your pets, and a potential increase in price for intra UK flights. This applies if you rent a business jet, and also if you are the owner of a private plane of any size like a Light Jet, a Mid-Size Jet or a Large Jet.
Will the reinstalment of cabotage rights and overfly permits impact business aviation and the business aviation charter market?
With the UK now out of Europe, both markets are now independent, and it is adding back barriers to international private jet flights. Depending on their nationality, some carriers are limited to operate private jet flights and even to overfly some countries like Switzerland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, etc. In fact, cabotage rights are back in place for both UK and EU aircraft operators, managing private jets such as Falcons, Bombardiers, Cessnas and Embraers, but also airliner aircraft for groups such Boeing, Airbus, and Dorniers to name a few.
The first restriction concerns the right to fly in a private plane or in a commercial plane over countries. From now on, UK operators will need extra permissions to fly over the European airspace and vice versa, for EU operators willing to fly in or over the UK with EU-registered aircraft. To obtain a UK airspace permits, operators need to submit an application to the Civil Aviation Authorities of the UK and European operators need to apply for flight permits with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, known as EASA. That is an additional process, but it should not be too much of a handicap for aircraft operators after the private jet charter contract has been approved by the charterer. In order to avoid having to apply for a permit for each individual flight, some companies have already negotiated bulk permissions that will facilitate their operations, whether they operate a business jet charter flight, and private aircraft owner flight or a group charter flight for a Tour Operator for example.
These new requirements for permits are not very constraining as operators can anticipate and will slowly obtain bulk permissions. Moreover, LunaJets and Luna Group Charter work with hundreds of business jet for hire operators and commercial airliners for rent, across Europe and is able to find the aircraft operators that will suit your flight needs (PC12, PC24, Phenom 300, Cessna Latitude, Challengers, Globals, etc). Our LunaJets’ team of Private Aviation Advisors and Group Charter experts has an extensive experience in finding the best aircraft or airplane options to get you to your final destination, jet or turboprop.
The second restriction that results from the Brexit is reinstalment of cabotage rights. This might sound like an old pirate term but it’s actually one of the six freedoms of the air, the rules that regulate international air transportation and air cargo transport. It means that European private jet operators, cargo freighters and commercial airlines are no longer able to perform domestic UK flights, such as London Biggin Hill BQH-Manchester MAN, London Farnborough FAB-Edinburgh EDI or Luton LTN-Southampton SOU for instance. The same applies to UK-operators who can’t perform anymore domestic European country flights. For example, a British operator is no longer authorised to perform a Paris Le Bourget LBG-Nice NCE, a Madrid Barajas MAD-Ibiza IBZ or Palma de Mallorca PMI or Munich MUC-Berlin Brandenburg International BER. However, Geneva GVA or Zurich ZRH-Paris Le Bourget LBG, Malaga AGP-Amsterdam AMS or Barcelona BCN-Olbia OLB or Mykonos JMK remains possible as the plane hired by the passengers crosses a border, even if it stays within the European Union.
LunaJets’ clients won’t be affected by this second restriction neither since, as mentioned before, the company does not operate a fleet of aircraft and gives its clients access to hundreds of operators across Europe: private jets, smaller turboprops, large commercial airliners for groups of passengers. Our Private Aviation Advisors, our Group Charter Experts and our Cargo Transportation specialists will always be able to suggest our clients the best alternative for their private jet, cargo goods or large group flights, regardless of the departure point and final airport destination.
Can I still fly on a private jet charter that I rent with my pets to the UK after the Brexit?
From the 1st January 2021, with the UK having officially left Europe, new restrictions rules apply to pets’ owners willing to fly, especially when leaving UK especially London airports such as Farnborough FAB, Biggin Hill BQH, Luton LTN, London City LCY, Southend SEN and even Oxford OXF with their pets on board a private jet or a commercial aircraft.
Arriving in the UK with your pets won’t see radical changes. You still need to:
Have a valid pet passport. Note that old passports are still currently valid as long as the vaccination requirements are met. And the new Animal Health Certificate (AHC) is not required to enter in the UK yet.
Go through an approved Border Inspection Post, which are located in: Stansted airport STN, Manchester airport MAN, Edinburgh airport EDI, Gatwick airport LGW, Heathrow airport LHR, and more… Note that Farnborough FAB and Biggin Hill BQH, the two most used airports for business jet travels, do not have a Border Inspection Post.
Have your animal microchipped
Show a proof that the animal is vaccinated against rabies (you need to wait 21 days after your pet’s primary vaccination before traveling into GB)
If the animal is a dog, show a proof that he has received the treatment against tape worm no more than 5 days and no less than 1 day before the business jet charter flight or the commercial airline plane when renting it with a group of passengers.
On the contrary, when you decide to leave the UK with your pet, it is now required to have an AHC that must be issued less than 10 days prior the dedicated flight. This AHC is delivered only by an Official Veterinarian (OV). You can arrange an appointment by contacting your veterinary practice directly and note that when you apply for an AHC, you will need to bring your pet, along with vaccination and other medical records, to the issuing vet.
They no longer need to have a pet passport as the AHC contains already all the necessary information. The animals must as well be microchipped, but this has been the case already for quite some time. Your LunaJets Private Aviation, Group Charter and Cargo Transport advisors have the experience in organising private jet flights with pets and will be able to guide you through the paperwork for a smooth flight experience.
What is the impact of Brexit on private jet charter prices for UK flights? And commercial aircraft for rent prices? And for the price of transporting cargo?
Due to the fact that European aircraft operators aren’t allowed anymore to operate intra UK flights from the 1st January 2021, there is a possibility that the private jet charter flight prices will slowly increase for people willing to charter a business jet or to rent a commercial aircraft.
Indeed, UK based operators will have less competition for domestic charter trips or cargo flights such as London-Manchester or Southampton-Edinburgh as from now on, only G-registered aircraft have the permission to perform that kind of flights. In terms of supply and demand, this means that there will be less supply of private jets as less operators could perform domestic trips. Having less supply with potentially the same amount of demand would theoretically make the prices to hire a private jet rise in 2021 for intra UK business private jet flights.
These new regulations might also affect the price of UK-EU business charter flights, as there may be less operators willing to perform those private flights. Even though it might seem to represent no concrete obstacle, in the long-term some operators (EU and UK) could end focusing on their local market, instead of having to position their aircraft far away. By not performing private business flights between Great Britain and the Old Continent, this will help them not generating extra costs, thus avoiding applying for fly over permits.