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Despite of being an important segment of non-scheduled air transport, the Business Aviation sector has hardly been dealt with in the academic literature. We give insight into the European Business Aviation sector with a special focus on its economic impacts. Based on an extensive data collection, we conduct an input-output analysis and find that about 374,000 European jobs depend directly or indirectly from Business Aviation activities, which further represent 0.2% of the European (EU28) GDP. In addition, a data analysis approach comparing actual European Business Aviation flights against the fastest commercial travel alternatives indicates that users of Business Aviation experience average travel time savings of 127 minutes and a 150% average increase in productive work time per trip, as well as annual savings of about €15 million in overnight hotel. These effects partly stem from improved connectivity, as Business Aviation serves about 25k city or area pairs which are not connected by nonstop scheduled services, including many region-pairs of different economic strengths.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a goal that one billion gallons of renewable jet fuel is consumed by the US aviation industry each year from 2018. We examine the economic and emissions impacts of this goal using renewable fuel produced from a Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) process from renewable oils. Our approach employs an economy-wide model of economic activity and energy systems and a detailed partial equilibrium model of the aviation industry. If soybean oil is used as a feedstock, we find that meeting the aviation biofuel goal in 2020 will require an implicit subsidy from airlines to biofuel producers of $2.69 per gallon of renewable jet fuel. If the aviation goal can be met by fuel from oilseed rotation crops grown on otherwise fallow land, the implicit subsidy is $0.35 per gallon of renewable jet fuel. As commercial aviation biofuel consumption represents less than 2% of total fuel used by this industry, the goal has a small impact on the average price of jet fuel and carbon dioxide emissions. We also find that, under the pathways we examine, the cost per tonne of CO[subscript 2] abated due to aviation biofuels is between $50 and $400., United States. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Environment and Energy (FAA Award 06-C-NE-MIT, Amendments 018 and 028), United States. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Environment and Energy (FAA Award 09-C-NE-MIT, Amendments 007, 020, and 025), United States. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Environment and Energy (FAA Award DTFAWA-05-D-00012, Task Order 0009)

We estimate the economic impacts on US airlines that may arise from the inclusion of aviation in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012 to 2020. We find that the Scheme would only have a small impact on US airlines and emissions, and that aviation operations would continue to grow. If carriers pass on all additional costs, including the opportunity costs associated with free allowances, to consumers, profits for US carriers will increase. Windfall gains from free allowances may be substantial because, under current allocation rules, airlines would only have to purchase about a third of the required allowances. However, an increase in the proportion of allowances auctioned would reduce windfall gains and profits for US airlines may decline., United States. Federal Aviation Administration (Office of Environment and Energy under FAA Award Number: 06-C-NE-MIT, Amendment Nos. 018 and 028), United States. Dept. of Energy, Erich Becker Foundation