CEOs above the clouds

Despite the airline industry's troubles, there is one segment of the market that considers the current period as an opportunity. "There is no better time to expand your wings and show your values than now," said Marcin Odzioba, sales and marketing director at Blue Jet, a company with 53 people and a fleet of four business jets that it rents out to businesses.

The company targets businesspeople who want to travel quickly and in comfort. "Our plane is available for the customer two hours after his phone call. Going through the VIP Aviation Terminal in Warsaw he takes just 10 minutes. While using the regular flight he would need to be at the airport long before the departure, and [would have to] fight crowds at the departure hall," said Odzioba. The optimism about the potential of Poland's business-jet market is shared by Jonathan Breeze, CEO of Jet Republic, a British company with a fleet of Learjet 60 XRs.

"There are tens of thousands of what we would consider high-net-worth individuals living in Poland. … Many of these entrepreneurs are likely to consider the merits of private jets as a cost-effective and time-efficient way to conduct their business affairs," he said in a recent interview with WBJ.

Besides these two companies, there is hardly any competition in this segment in Poland. "There are a few companies that own small propeller engine jets that serve as sky-taxis or charters," said Odzioba, admitting that these players are in a "different league."
"Of course many companies cut their travel budgets, but businesspeople just have to fly. It is a good time for this business as any other," said Roman Peczka, an editor at Przegląd Lotniczy (Aviation Revue). "These planes can fly to smaller airports that are unreachable for big passenger jets. Once people learn how much time can be saved, they will not want to switch to regular flights," he added.

Given Polish officials' past problems with planes, Blue Jet wants to attract the government with its offer. A flight with a Cessna Citation XLS to Brussels would cost about zł.50,000, which is zł.100,000 less than the Boeing 737 that the President's Chancellery chartered in October 2008.

Marcin Poznań