Jetfly Airline (JFL, Linz Blue Danube) has no plans to add any new aircraft to its fleet given the economic environment and high prices, even though it sees having young planes as a strong advantage in the competitive business charter market.

"We saw it when we got the new Cessna Citation XLS Gen2, which is now 1.8 years old. We saw an increase in inquiries, but also inquiries about changing flights to the new aircraft. This is definitely a pull factor for us to get to the customers," Chief Executive Herbert Anzengruber told ch-aviation in an exclusive interview at the carrier's headquarters at Linz Blue Danube airport. "But the whole thing is a bit confusing to me because I've seen four-year-old aircraft in really bad condition, and I've seen 20-year-old aircraft that looked like new. It all depends on how it is maintained."

OE-GPP (msn 560-6326) is the most recent addition to the Austrian carrier's fleet of three business jets. The others - one Citation Bravo and one Citation XLS+ - are 20.5 and 15.2 years old, respectively. Jetfly refurbished its XLS+ in 2023 and the Bravo this year to offer quality comparable to the new XLS Gen2.

Anzengruber elaborated that the preference for new aircraft is particularly strong in the charter market, which is dominated by brokers. Jetfly Airline's long-standing customers, including its owners, are not pressing for younger aircraft, given the current state of its fleet and its level of maintenance.

Given those considerations, Jetfly is not actively pursuing fleet renewal. New-generation aircraft, such as the Cessna Citation Ascend - a new variant of the Citation XLS - are currently too expensive. Anzengruber stressed that with Textron Aviation's backlog backed up, the manufacturer is not offering any discounts for the type.

Although supply chain issues have been felt across the industry, Jetfly Airline has not experienced any problems that would ground its aircraft for a protracted period of time. This is the argument for sticking to Textron Aviation aircraft, as the manufacturer has a well-developed global support network for its business jets, including spare part stocks in Europe and the US. Nonetheless, the airline was hit by some supply chain issues that while they did not affect airworthiness, they did impact passenger convenience. For example, the new Citation XLS Gen2 was delivered without a functioning in-flight entertainment system, and it took ten months for the supplier to install it.

Reliability remains an important selling point for the airline. As such, Jetfly errs on the side of caution when scheduling its flights to ensure sufficient turnaround time.

"Even if you're a little bit more expensive, but you provide the service, and you are reliable, that reliability is also a really big part of the customer appeal," the CEO explained.

Split between owners and third-party charters

Jetfly Airline is owned by three larger companies based in Upper Austria (the federal state of which Linz is the capital) and the Salzburg area. The three owners are important customers of Jetfly, which provides connectivity for both management and employees. However, the carrier's business model also includes third-party charters. From Jetfly's point of view, the CEO said, there is no distinction between flying for owners and other charterers.

However, the airline and its owners work together to manage capacity and demand. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the high season for business charter in Europe has grown and now lasts from May until the end of September. During this period, Jetfly Airline tries to proffer its capacity to third-parties, given the high demand. In winter, when demand is lower, the carrier's owners and other fixed customers plan most of their corporate flights. Especially for corporate charters, pricing remains a very important factor, Anzengruber underlined.

Linz - an airport around 100 kilometres from Salzburg and 150 kilometres from Vienna - generates only limited local demand. Anzengruber said that as the capital of Upper Austria, the city has some significant local industry but conceded that most demand, especially inbound, is out of the two other cities. ch-aviation analysis of ADS-B data shows that besides Linz, Vienna and Salzburg are Jetfly's most-served airports, followed by international destinations such as Nice, Palma de Mallorca, and Paris Le Bourget.

Market outlook

Anzengruber says the market for business charters in Europe has been normalising post pandemic, as scheduled carriers rebuild their networks, with demand higher than pre-2020. Many new customers reverted to private charters during the pandemic and have learned to appreciate the efficiency of this kind of travel. The pandemic also affected passengers' behaviour. For example, customers are now much more diligent with arriving at the airport on time or in giving advance notice, as during the pandemic, the business charters were much more regulated than before.

The sector remains concerned about the bureaucratic and political landscape in that while plans to curb business charters in Europe are a worry, excessive redtape and a lack of harmonisation are even bigger issues to contend with at present.

"There are so many small regulations, such as reporting issues. One country requires you to report the flight in one database, the passengers have to be reported to another one, you have to report CO2 emissions to another. And these are all small parts but for a small operator like us which is not staffed for everything, it is a lot. And is all these small things together; not just one particular regulation which makes it complicated," Anzengruber explained.

The complexities extend to ensuring that passengers are not on any sanctions lists, securing airport slots for charter flights, and complying with all other procedural requirements.

Going forward, Jetfly Airline maintains that any additional regulations should be global and universal. Introducing changes currently being bandied around in Europe, such as aviation fuel tax or other environmental initiatives, will only work if it covers the whole sector.

"This is a definite uncertainty we have to deal with. It is not a problem if we make [the changes] worldwide and everybody gets a fair chance and deals with the same conditions. But if we say, okay, now in Austria, you have to pay tax for this, which you don't have to pay in Germany or in France, then it's not going to work," the CEO argued.