News
VLJ-Europe Event 2009 moves to Oxford Airport, UK

July 14, 2009 – Oxford Airport, U.K. will be the new venue for the forthcoming VLJ-Europe 2009 event, the only dedicated conference focused on operations in the entry level and light jet arena. Organized by MIU Events, this year’s event will combine an opportunity to see some of the latest entry level jets available and provide an important forum to discuss the issues facing this industry – from the operator, OEM, airport, legal, insurance, broker, financier and regulator’s perspective. The event will be supported by the  Air Taxi Association – Europe.

The two-day programme will address the challenges facing operators who wish to establish themselves in the marketplace during what is an unprecedented downturn in the business aviation sector.  Where are their customers going to come from; how will they fit in the overall business aviation market and how do the charter brokers view their business model. Emerging entry level jet operators – including Ambeo PLC, JetBird and Flairjet will join established operators Blink and London Executive Aviation, Grossmann and JetQuik as participants. The operators will also feature in an interactive Question Time panel discussion at the end of the first day with Charles Alcock, Senior Editor-Europe, Aviation International News and Business Jet Traveler.

Right now the most important criteria for the OEMs  – among them Cessna, Embraer and Honda, which has started marketing their large VLJ Hondajet in Europe, is seeing that the number of orders they have accrued are retained and honoured, so enabling this new business model to build up a sizeable presence.  There continue to be obstacles placed in the path of the VLJ.  Following on from last year’s event in Barcelona, will TCAS, air corridor, airport infrastructure, customs, security, MRO, pilot training and delivery hassles make life for the owner/operator too arduous, or is all this a necessary step along the road to establishing a vibrant and healthy VLJ sector?  Alex Hendricks, CND Deputy Director for Network Development at Eurocontrol will examine VLJ Integration into Europe, while a leading investor and entrepreneur will address the essential elements required to establish value in the VLJ market.

The need to work closely with fixed based operators (FBOs) will be addressed by Captain Bill Minkoff, President of US-based JetQuik, while Alan Rosser, Business Manager at Marshall Business Aviation will highlight the range of FBO services on offer, fees, traffic and airspace issues.  Steve Jones, Managing Director of Oxford Airport and first day conference chairman will examine the role and infrastructure requirements for regional airports.    Oxford-based Oxford Aviation Academy, whose facilities will be used for this year’s event, will also speak on pilot training issues.

An idea voiced at VLJ-Europe 2008 was that VLJs should be built in Europe.  But since then Eclipse has collapsed, there is uncertainty about Adam Aircraft and overall VLJ deliveries and production has slowed across the board. This conference sets out to tackle what is the realistic outlook in Europe for the VLJ and the air taxi model.

The third annual VLJ-Europe conference will be the essential meeting place for any operator, government agency, manufacturer, regulatory body, FBO organisation, support and service organisation or any company with interest or awareness of the potential for this market.

The Early Bird registration for the event is Euros 390 before 24 July, 2009 and Euros 590 thereafter. You can register online at the link below or contact the organisers on the number below:

For further details and an outline of topics on the agenda see http://www.miuevents.com/vlj-e09 .
Or contact Alan Perry, Chairman, MIU Events.  Tel: 44-208-332-2211.