Sustainability and connectivity: top of the agenda for private jet industry

The executive aviation industry is currently facing a paradox. On the one hand, demand for private flying remains strong, propelled by the rise in the number of high-net-worth individuals around the globe. While on the other hand, the industry is increasingly being questioned by the public, the media, and politicians over its environmental credentials.

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It is no exaggeration to say that many within the industry fear the possibility of business aviation going the way of the tobacco or coal industries. The emerging advanced air mobility (AAM) segment of the industry, which is mostly electric, hybrid or hydrogen-powered, offers not only a blue ocean-type opportunity for growth, but a way for established industry players to demonstrate their sustainability credentials.

At the same time, the advanced air mobility space and the executive aviation industry are becoming more linked, representing not just a source of funding for startups, but also a platform to develop new commercial opportunities that otherwise would be harder to come by.

Therefore, it was no wonder that both types of companies are increasingly grouped together at major industry events such as EBACE. The 2024 edition of the EBACE executive airshow staged between 28 and 30 May 2024, in Geneva confirmed this phenomenon, something already made apparent in its previous edition.

Proof of this growing connection between advanced air mobility and the more conventional executive aviation sector is the prominent exhibition space taken by eVTOL developer Lilium at EBACE 2024. For the first time the German firm had showcased a complete full-scale mock-up of its revolutionary Lilium Jet. Another advanced air mobility startup from the Munich area present at EBACE was electric aircraft developer Vaeridion, which offered visitors to its booth a first impression of its future nine-seater aircraft cabin.