Private jet passengers fly over credit crunch into Palma

PALMA
THE effect of the global credit crunch and the economic down turn in Europe is starting to take shape with indications emerging that the top end of society is, for the moment, riding rough shod over the economic crisis.

As the Bulletin reported yesterday, Majorca is still an extremely popular destination for holiday home hunters and the latest figures suggest that tourism figures are similar to last year, although in some resorts, holiday makers are staying for a shorter period and spending less.

However, the Balearics is the most popular holiday rental destination for foreign visitors coming to Spain and also one of the most expensive and the “jet set” are living up to their reputation and hopping from the UK to Palma on private jets.

For wealthy travellers tired of airport hassle, tightened and lengthy security checks and check in delays, private jets are proving an increasingly popular alternative and Palma's Son San Joan airport is one of Spain's most popular private jet destinations.

In March, Palma's private jet terminal handled 100 private jet movements while in April and May, private jet figures rose to 150 per month and that figure has risen again over the past two months.

Palma is in fact becoming one of the busiest private jet terminals in Europe handling both business and holiday traffic.
Last year, private jet use in Europe grew by eight percent while here in Spain, the market enjoyed near 20 percent growth.
Comfort, privacy, which is a major concern for a large number of rich and famous people who holiday and own houses on the island and flexibility are the main benefits of flying by private jet.

Passengers can also be airborne within 15 minutes of arriving at the private jet terminal which, for business people having to attend meetings in Europe, is a big bonus as well.

From here in Palma, corporate private jet passengers can be in most Western European cities within a matter of hours and back home by mid afternoon.