Clive Chalmers is vice president, charter, at private aviation specialist Air Partner

Private jets certainly had their moment in the sun during the pandemic when many regular business and first class fliers discovered their benefits, but will corporates return to commercial flights now that networks and schedules move towards full restoration?

Farnborough Airport, designed with business travellers in mind, saw an increase in private jet use of 19. 2 per cent during the pandemic ¨C compared to 2019 ¨C while Biggin Hill fared even better, witnessing 74 per cent growth. As recently as this March, the number of charter flights for business trips in Europe increased 16 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, according to data from WINGX.

As we enter a post-pandemic world, group charter travel for conferences and product launches is recovering but, notably, this is for smaller groups travelling to smaller scale industry events. This shift is generating more demand for the 50-100 seater Embraer 145 or 170 aircraft rather than 189-seater 737s, for example.

Incentive travel is also making a comeback after two years of virtual or hybrid events, albeit a slow one. One trend we¡¯re noticing here is shorter lead times for some group bookings ¨C weeks or even days ¨C due to some unease and uncertainty around Covid-19 infection rates.

Meanwhile, priorities around corporate travel have also shifted. According to the Institute of Travel Management, only 28 per cent of buyers believe business travel will return to pre-pandemic levels, while sustainability is top of the agenda for many organisations right now.

Environmentally-friendly electric aircraft are, realistically, some way off, but there is potential for leaner and cleaner engines in private aviation, with possible developments in hydrogen-fuelled planes expected this year.

Further considerations for corporates and travel management companies alike are reduced resources, increasing costs and conflict in Ukraine.

All of which points to a situation in which some corporates are reducing travel volumes but increasing the 'quality' of trips, with employees' mental and physical wellbeing very much in mind.

Some businesses will therefore want to arrange private jet travel, particularly for those high profile trips where there is a tangible return on investment and time and convenience are of the essence.

In these cases, we believe that companies will choose to protect their employees¡¯ security and guarantee better ease of passage by flying them privately. We also predict that for businesses moving groups around the world, the use of charter aircraft will be more prevalent, for convenience, speed and security.

It is very much our expectation that senior business executives and the C-Suite will continue to travel in private jets for high-level, critical meetings where face-to-face discussions can make a tangible difference.

Both private jet and scheduled airlines have their place in today¡¯s world, however planning business travel has become a balancing act, weighing up return on investment, budget, time and the cost to the environment.