Dassault Aviation Mr. Olivier de l ESTOILE 78 Quai Marcel Dassault 92552 Saint-Cloud Cedex 300, FRANCE Tel: (33) 1 47 11 40 00 Olivier.De-l-estoile@dassault-aviation.com AIRCRAFT DEPARTMENT Al. Krakowska 110/114 02-256 Warsaw, Poland fax: [48-22) 846 44 32 e-mail: khp@ilot.edu.pl www.ilot.edu.pl City, date: Warsaw, June 15, 2007 Our ref.: BP/61/2007 Subject: EGAMA and EPATS Dear Mr. de l ESTOILE, It is a great pleasure to learn about the creation of European General Aviation Manufacturers Association EGAMA inside the Aero Space and Defence Industries Association of Europe. We hope, that the importance of General Aviation development for European society and economics will be better understood by stakeholders and policy makers. In December 2006 a Consortium Agreement for SSA Project European Personal Aircraft Transportation System EPATS under the VI Framework Programme of the European Community was initiated by Institute of Aviation as Coordinator and EUROCONTROL, M3S, NLR, PZL Mielec, RzUoT, PZL Rzeszów, BUTE, Windrose Air and Ad Cuenta as Contractors. The Project Summary is in the attachment. In the preliminary phases of the project we analyzed the position of European Personal Aviation Industry in the market and we arrived at facts and following conclusions: According to EUROCONTROL, there were 630 thousand on-demand air operations done by business aviation in 2005, which was an equivalent of 6,9% of total civil air operations. The growth of this traffic is two times higher than the growth of total air traffic and amounted 6,3% in the same year. This trend is forecasted to be maintained. European market of business aviation consists of 700 carriers operating the fleet of 2000 aircraft including: 900 jets, 600 turboprop and 500 piston. The EUROCONTROL forecast assumes the enhancement of the fleet to 3010 aircraft within 10 years, where the increase will occur in the number of jet aircraft mainly, reaching 2060. The forecast assumes that the supply of business jet aircraft on the global market yearly reaches the number of 928, where 13,5% of it will arrive on the European market. This is the most moderate prediction in comparison to other companies forecasts, e.g. Pratt&Whitney predicts the supply of 1220 VLJs yearly and Cessna estimates the supply on the level of 1400 pieces.
80% of the European fleet of 2000 aircraft are American and only 15% of them were produced in Europe (Falcon, TBM700, P180, PC12). The import of GA aircraft to Europe values few hundred million Euro and grows constantly. New Irish air-taxi company, JETBIRD, considers ordering 100 VLJs Phenom worth 280 million USD. The above forecasts are concerning the nearest future and base on the extrapolation of the air transport development tendency of the last years. They do not take under consideration emerging needs and possibilities of the enhanced small aircraft use, especially in remote regions, far from main communication channels, where personal vehicles cars are predominantly used for long distance travel so far. Considering the hitherto EPATS project analysis, the size of European personal aircraft fleet, including business aircraft, may be more than 10 times higher than the numbers mentioned in the text above, during the decade of 2020-2030. Europe noticed, that the small aircraft transport will dynamically develop and tend to satisfy the increasing demand for the high speed, door-to-door travel of the growing population. Programs, satellite systems of navigation, air traffic management and control for the intensive activity in the whole airspace, at all airports and airfields are being realized (GALILEO, SESAR). Regional and local authorities more and more intensively push for the air traffic start up at airports located in their areas. The question emerges: what personal aircraft will the 21 st -century Europe use? Will Europe rely its small aircraft transportation system on the American monopoly and import, neglecting the appropriate development and production, as we see it is so far? Or will institutions (like ACARE, ASD, EGAMA, EPATS Community) taking the European Commission calls for catching up with the US in the area of aviation (GA) seriously, accept a challenge and program the adequate actions? This large market is estimated at the level of a few billion Euro (Value of the US GA sales in 2005 was 8,667 billion USD, including export: 2,586 billion USD). What kind of measures should be used to reverse the hitherto increasing trend of small aircraft import from the outside of Europe and stop further decline of the European GA aircraft industry? The question is addressed to the most interested, i.e. GA Aircraft Manufacturers and European GA Key Players. We consider, that in terms of development and implementation costs of new personal aircraft, reaching tens or hundreds of million of Euro, lacking the adequate research and development support and other factors influencing the competitiveness, the existing GA aircraft producers are unable to compete with the American companies by themselves. Accepting the challenge to compete with the US industry is conditioned by creating the same environment and instruments stimulating the development for small aviation in Europe as those of the time of the US General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994. From our point of view the most important measures, which should be applied are as the following: 1. Creating the European Personal Aircraft Manufacturers Group (inside EGAMA?) to represent the interests of its members in the European Commission and other organizations and which could be a platform of joint actions for personal aircraft development and production in European companies.
2. Creating a Working Group of member companies representatives to establish common policy and rules of action in the domain of personal aircraft development. 3. Creating a Group of Experts for R&D programs that are heading for personal aircraft production fulfilling the future European market requirements, and proposing their realization in the European Framework (as AGATE) in consultation with ACARE and other European organizations. We ask you to express your opinion in the abovementioned issues and to inform us if EGAMA is interested to collaborate with EPATS Consortium in Personal Aviation issues. Yours faithfully, EPATS Project Coordinator Institute of Aviation General Manager Krzysztof Piwek Witold Wiśniowski address: Krzysztof Piwek, Instytut Lotnictwa, Al. Krakowska 110/114, 02-256 Warsaw, Poland fax: [48-22) 846 44 32 e-mail: khp@ilot.edu.pl encl: SSA EPATS PROJECT SUMMARY
Project no: ASA6-CT-2006-044549 Project acronym: EPATS SSA EPATS PROJECT SUMMARY Project title: European Personal Air Transportation System STUDY Instrument: Specific Support Action Thematic Priority: Integrating and Strengthening the European Research Area Frame Program: 6 Number of participants: 10 Project Coordinator: Institute of Aviation Start Date: 1 January 2007 Period of realization: 18 month The EPATS (European Personal Air Transportation System) focuses on the future Highly Customer Oriented and Time, and Cost Efficient Air Transport System. It fills niche between Surface and Scheduled Air Transport. Future mobility cannot be satisfied only through investments in hub and spoke, or rail - and highway systems. This future EPATS system will provide a wide choice of transportation mode - and the wider use of small aircraft, served by small airports, to create access to more communities in less time. The goal of the EPATS proposal is to demonstrate the needs and potential of small aircraft business development and to propose recommendations for the introduction of this new European Air Transportation System in the context of the European Research Areas. The SSA EPATS STUDY project will address the following issues: The potential new market for personal aviation up to 2020. The potential impact of this new way of transport on the European ATM, airport infrastructures, as well as the environmental, safety and security issues involved. The EPATS general specification and R&D Roadmap A Consortium supported by representative experts of the EPATS stakeholder community will carry out the studies. The deliverables of these studies will be rapports containing a joint vision of the personal air transportation system in Europe to 2020 and proposals for developing this new small aircraft business at a European level.
EPATS fills niche between Surface and Scheduled Air Transport and is an alternative choice mainly for long travel by car. European Air Transportation System is tailored to the personal needs, preference and resources of the population and is adapted to serve European & National Intercity low-density passenger flow, which can not be profitably served by current Regional Airline neither by High Speed Train. The European Personal Air Transportation System includes: Network of all existing airports and airfields in Europe (satisfying the EPATS requirements an EPATS-compliant airport meets a set of desired characteristics appropriate for the community s transportation demand and requirements), Pistons, turboprop and jet aircraft, having a capacity from 4 to 19-seats, fulfilling the requirements of FAR-23 or CS-23 and FAR 135 operating regulations, and performing EPATS missions specifications including economic, ecological and security efficiency, Air traffic management and control systems adapted to intensified air traffic generated by the EPATS, Air carriers organizations including small regional airlines operating commuters, offering periodical transport, charter flights, as well as air taxi companies doing on-demand service, Aircraft owners and users associations. The mains operational tasks of the EPATS are: Commuting passenger air transport service on the relatively low density, interregional, national and European connections from 2000 to 15000 passengers per year with 5 days per week there and back again, daily trips guaranteed, Guaranteeing periodical transport service, once or twice per week on interregional, national and European low flow routes, Fractional Ownership Programme stimulation, Air charter to satisfy demand of small passenger groups from 4 to 19, traveling with various purpose: corporate, recreational, family, etc. Satisfying demand for air taxi service in the whole Europe at acceptable price, Securing maintenance and service for the EPATS aircrafts on all EPATS airports. The concept of the European Personal Air Transportation System (EPATS) is based on: Using the already existing local and regional airports network (more than 2000) located on the periphery of European main transportation infrastructure, in the areas with low level of accessibility indicator, Using a potential enabled by the opening of Single European Sky and conducted research in the area of management and air traffic control SESAR,
Using new technologies concerning aerodynamics, materials, propulsion, communication, navigation and control based on satellite systems, Adjusting aircraft fleet and operational structures to interregional passengers flow, local demand and society needs, Increasing economic efficiency of interregional air transport by creating small carriers and private aircraft owner friendly legal and economic conditions, promoting unification, standardization and integration of maintenance networks, Including remote interregional communication networks areas (with low accessibility) into public transport financing. Forecasted demand. The forecasted demand of EPATS aircraft is based on the following assumptions: The average traveler has knowledge about available transportation alternatives and makes rational choice in terms of money and time needed to complete the trip, The bases of demand prognosis are current and future data concerning: interregional passengers mobility for each mode of transport and particularly car, regional socio-economics data, household income distribution, value of time distribution and transportation system operational and economics characteristics, The demand model is based on minimization of travel costs for a given level of services, Remote regional authorities, social and commercial organizations, and local airports and aircraft owners are interested in air transportation services and are planning development of small aircraft transportation system, The EU recognizes the EPATS as public good and assists in realization of coherent economic European space development. The EU includes the EPATS in the transportation, regional and research programs, as an important element of the European Transportation System.