CBAA Study Demonstrates Importance of Business Aircraft to Canadian Economy

Dec. 7, 2015

A study commissioned by the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA) not only highlights the significant economic impact from the country’s business aviation industry, but also its direct contributions per aircraft.

According to the study “Economic Impact from Business Aviation in Canada,” conducted by InterVISTAS, the operation of a single business aircraft in Canada contributes a total of 12.4 person-years of employment, $820,000 in wages, $1.4 million in gross domestic product (GDP) and $2.9 million in economic output – every year.

“These are extremely powerful figures, which we may show to lawmakers when discussing the many regulatory challenges that make life difficult for Canadian operators,” said CBAA President and CEO Rudy Toering. “Every aircraft that leaves Canada to be operated [in another country] costs our economy a multiplier of those figures.

“Moreover, the government and regulators must consider our exemplary safety record as well,” he continued. “They must not create an environment that encourages operators to fly registrations of convenience to bypass Canadian regulations because they have become non-competitive.”

The study also demonstrates that Canadian business aviation operations contribute $2.4 billion annually to GDP overall, representing $5.5 billion in total annual economic output.

Notably, those numbers don’t include the number of jobs provided, or total economic impact from, the country’s business aircraft or service providers. That data will be included in phase two of the study, scheduled for release next spring.

“Those results will dramatically affect the numbers over the 2014 study,” Toering said. Also notable is how the study has already contributed to greater appreciation for business aviation within the Canadian government.

“Before partnering with InterVISTAS, business aviation was little more than a subset of aviation data created by Industry Canada [the government’s official economic development branch],” Toering concluded. “After the release of the 2014 study, we have seen them put a much greater emphasis on, and show a greater understanding of, the value of business aviation in its own right.”

View the full study.