All Eyes On France
There’s a distinctly Gallic flavour in the air at PrivateFly this week.
First of all, we’ve been busy taking enquiries from customers who have been stuck in France, following delays and cancellations caused by this week’s Air Traffic Control strike.
Then there’s our expanding French team. We now have four dedicated French-speakers in the office. Heading up our French operation is Mehdi, who together with Julien and Davide is focused on serving our French customers and aircraft operator network.
We have also recently welcomed Astrid to our marketing team, who is making some exciting changes to our dedicated French website www.privatefly.fr, and continuing to drive awareness of PrivateFly in the French market.
In fact, we celebrated a small milestone this week – our 100th French customer. So with our dedicated French service now at full strength, I’m looking forward to seeing more growth in this important European market.
Finally there’s the Paris Air Show coming up on June 17th – 23rd. The bi-annual event is one of the highlights of the aviation calendar, and the world’s premier showcase for aircraft and space companies. It’s held at Europe’s busiest private jet airport, Paris Le Bourget. See Europe’s Top 25 private jet airports.
There is much anticipation amongst the aviation community as to whether the eagerly-awaited new aircraft – the Airbus A350 and Bombardier’s C-Series – will make an appearance. Either way, there will be plenty to see, with flying displays, aerial acrobatics and all manner of military and commercial hardware ranged around the airfield.
The Paris Air Show is a must-attend event for both the aviation industry and aircraft enthusiasts and, in celebration of the event’s 50th anniversary, here’s a quick rundown of its history:
A History of The Paris Air Show & Paris Le Bourget
1927: Charles Lindbergh lands at Le Bourget after making the first non-stop transatlantic flight in The Spirit of St Louis.
1938: The Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane were on display, just 2 years before their pivotal roles in the Battle of Britain.
1953: The Paris Air Show takes place at Le Bourget for the first time – the show previously was held in the city and at Orly Airport.
1969: Concorde makes its supersonic debut at the show.
1983: The Space Shuttle Enterprise dominates the show and the skyline atop a Boeing 747. Plus Cessna set a new speed record for the Citation III, on its flight to Le Bourget.
1989: The largest plane in the world, the Antonov 225, makes its show debut, by carrying Russia’s Buran space shuttle.
2005: Airbus unveils its A380 super-jumbo, and key business aviation aircraft on show for the first time include Falcon 7X and Gulfstream’s G550.
2011: Solar Impulse’s display showcases the future of solar-powered flight. See more about Solar Powered Flights.
2013: Return of the Russians – the Sukhoi SU-35 fighter and the Irkut Yak-30 combat Trainer are both performing displays. Boeing’s Dreamliner is also expected to make an appearance. Also five business aviation manufacturers are exhibiting, the exception being Cessna.
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