Press Release

Issued by Aim of Emperor.

May 22, 2017

For the first five months of 2017 year the Russian charter business aviation market has increased by 7% and will continue to grow in the summer of this year, according to data provided by the Aim of Emperor group analysts. The group's structural divisions cover all Russian business aviation market segments: charter flights organization (LL Jets, QuantumVia), aircraft management company (Emperor Aviation), aircraft ground handling company (Capital AviaNeft).

"The positive mood, the increase in the intensity of flights in the first half of 2017, as well as the favourable state of certain key economy drivers, give us reason to believe that the Russian business aviation market has finally overcome the negative consequences of previous years and has moved to a new level of development," says Irakli Litanishvili, the owner of Aim of Emperor group of companies.

As noted by Aim of Emperor employees, the key drivers of growth in Russian business aviation remain the raw material, development and banking sectors of the economy and the growth in the number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI). In recent years, they have been supplemented by the agrarian sector and the IT industry. Despite the fact that the state and development of these drivers is not equal, their diversification allows balancing the demand for business aviation services. In particular, in the commodity market, the decrease in the value of a barrel of oil is compensated by the growth of the ferrous metallurgy market. An important factor, the number of HNWIs, is also steadily growing: according to the new Russian Forbes rating, the number of dollar billionaires has increased from 77 to 96 over the past year.

Business aviation passengers began to fly more intensively in the first five months of 2017: the volume of charter flights increased by 7% compared to the same period last year. The most popular routes were Nice, Geneva, London, Chambery, Samedan, Karlovy Vary and Pisa. The most popular business jets on the charter market appeared to be heavy jets, the Embraer Legacy 600 and Bombardier Challenger 605/850, and midsize jets, the Cessna Citation XLS and Bombardier Challenger 300.

In 2017 the trend of previous years, related to the renovation of the business jet fleet, continued. A demand for replacement was clearly seen in the segment of long-range business jets, as several absolutely new models appeared in recent years. The owners are selling outdated jets in exchange for new aircraft, such as the Bombardier Global 6000 and Gulfstream G650. In particular, Emperor Aviation, an Aim of Emperor group of companies' member, took over the management of the new business jet Global 6000 in May 2017. The aircraft, every stage of construction of which was supervised by the company's specialists, is the eighth long-distance jet in the Emperor Aviation park.

The pre-owned market in the first half of 2017 continues to be under the pressure of business jets put up for sale and, accordingly, remains on the buyer's side. According to Aim of Emperor, in the world market of business aviation, out of 21,272 operating aircraft for sale, 11.2% are for sale. The fleet of business aviation aircraft registered in Russia decreased slightly. In 2016 there were 72 aircraft with the "RA-" prefix, while in the first half of 2017 this fell to 69.

Aim of Emperor is a multi-diversified group of companies with over a decade of successfully dealing in business activities ranging from business aviation to retail fashion, architectural studio and other innovative venture developments. With great passion and an active portfolio in the aviation industry, Aim of Emperor operates aircraft management and charter, fuel and handling services, as well as aircraft sales and leasing. The group employs 150 staff span over five jurisdictions in Europe, Russia and other CIS countries.