The State of the European Business Jet Fleet in 2023, by the Numbers

There are 3,859 aircraft based in Europe, including both turboprops, though jets based in Europe outnumber turboprops by 2,518 to 1,341. There was a slight decline in total aircraft registered compared to January 2022 (3,893), with 2,537 jets and 1,356 turboprops based in Europe at the same time last year.

Heavy jets comprise the largest aircraft share, with 997 based in Europe at the beginning of 2023. Light jets come in a very close second, with 987 based here. In January 2022, the share reversed with 1017 light jets based in Europe compared to 987 heavy jets.

There are 455 mid-size jets based in Europe and 79 Bizliners—airliner jets converted for private business jet operations. In January 2022, there were 449 midsize jets based in Europe and 84 Bizliners.

The leading OEM is Textron Aviation, with 927 aircraft based in Europe. Bombardier aircraft are in second place, with 487, and Dassault is third, with 355. Gulfstream (155) and Embraer (148) are in fourth and fifth place.

While the order of the first three OEMs in the ranking hasn’t changed since January 2022, the number of their aircraft based in Europe for each OEM has. Textron Aviation had 947 aircraft based in Europe in January of last year, Bombardier had 485, and Dassault had 363. Last year, Embraer took fourth place, though the number of Embraer aircraft based in Europe has remained unchanged (148), and Gulfstream was in fifth place with 138 aircraft.

The majority (792) of Europe’s business jets are based in Germany, with France in second place (496), the UK in third place (490), Switzerland in fourth place (237), and Austria fifth (203).

In January last year, Germany held first place with 806 aircraft based there, the UK came in second with 522, and France was third (493). Switzerland (244) and Austria (205) held their fourth and fifth-place positions, respectively.

Grouped by aircraft type, most light jets (282) and midsize jets (80) are based in Germany, but the UK takes the lead as a base for heavy jets (146) and Bizliners (15). The rankings remained the same by aircraft type, though the numbers have changed, with 290 light jets based in Germany last year and 85 midsize jets. There were 153 heavy jets based in the UK last year and 15 Bizliners.

The five most popular locations of registration for business aircraft based in Europe are Germany (726), the United States (352), France (343), the United Kingdom (253), and Austria (227). Those rankings remain unchanged from January 2022, though there were 746 business aircraft registered in Germany, 362 registered in the US, 345 in France, 275 in the UK, and 225 in Austria.

By aircraft type, most light jets (270) and midsize jets (77) are registered in Germany as of January 2023, and most heavy jets (144) and Bizliners (12) are registered in Malta. In January 2023, Germany took the lead in light jets (281), midsize jets (80), and Bizliners (12), while Malta had the highest number of heavy jets registered (129).

Beyond the US, popular locations for aircraft registration outside of Europe include the Cayman Islands (17 aircraft in January 2023 vs 20 in January 2022), Aruba (9 aircraft, unchanged), and Morocco (8 aircraft in January 2023 vs 7 in January 2022).

As listed in the report, there was an increase in the number of aircraft registered in other countries, with 38 aircraft categorised as “other registries” in January 2022, compared to 46 in January 2023.