While economies remain uncertain in the overall European market, the business aviation fleet is continuing to expand in Central and Eastern Europe, according to an analysis from aircraft broker Colibri Aircraft. The Central and European region fleet has grown 16 percent since 2017, reaching 172 aircraft by late last year, Colibri said, noting it now accounts for 7.6 percent of Europe’s fleet. This is up from 6.3 percent two years ago.

The largest jump has come in the Czech Republic, which is up 41 percent from 2017. Poland follows with a 37.5 percent growth in the business aircraft fleet. In the first 10 months of 2019, Romania led the increase at 19.1 percent. Fleets grew 5.1 percent in Slovenia and 4.5 percent in Serbia. By comparison, the business aircraft fleet declined 1.7 percent on average for the entirety of Europe.

Colibri credited economic growth in parts of the region for this change. “In recent years, economic growth in Central and Eastern Europe has consistently exceeded that of the eurozone,” said Colibri Aircraft sales director Marian Jancarik. “Some Central and Eastern European countries are now vibrant market economies that are immersed into the supply chains of Europe. It is the European Union’s fastest-growing region, and this has resulted in strong growth in its business aviation market.”

The broker based its analysis on WingX and Amstat data.