The winged chariots of Plutos: Business jets and business elites

Abstract

Business elites of different countries use business aviation to move around the planet. Its development pattern reflects the peculiarities of business elites. The most important parameters of business aviation activity are the number of business jets registered, the number of their departures, as well as the routing of departures. Business aviation is used mainly for domestic flights in most large countries. Russia is an exception — notwithstanding its enormous size and underdeveloped high-speed railroads, Russian business jets are mostly used to fly abroad, mainly to Western European countries. That means that the Russian business elite is more cosmopolitan in its interests, lifestyle and outlook than business elites of many other countries. The distribution of internal activity of business aviation is an important indicator of its development. Many countries have this activity more or less evenly distributed throughout their territory. In contrast, business aviation activity in Russia is concentrated in a few large cities, primarily in Moscow.