The findings reveal that millennials are hopeful flying will become easier and cleaner in years to come. They also expect business aviation to become much more accessible for the next eneration of users and for individuals seeking lucrative career opportunities.

Three key findings from the survey are:

• Millennial views on transport are closely linked to concerns about the environment: 40% said that climate change is the megatrend that will have the biggest impact on the development of sustainable personal air transport. Artificial intelligence and digitisation come next. They also expect most research on innovation in aviation to focus on making air transport more sustainable.
• Millennials say the best thing about business aviation is the freedom and flexibility that it offers: 62% believe that the main benefit of business aviation its ability to take people where they need, when they need.
• Millennials believe that while technology will find solutions to mobility questions, there will still be concerns about cost, trust and safety. For example, 60% of Millennials are ready to use ride-sharing air services, but only 46% are ready to use automated ride-sharing air services.

They see future mobility as an efficient, environment-friendly whole. They recognise the potential for business aviation to drive technological change in the wider aviation sector. And they can see its increasing accessibility and democratisation.

EBAA Chairman Jürgen Wiese said the survey gave the business aviation sector a valuable platform to connect to young people in an ever-changing environment. “Integrating the Next Generation into our industry is paramount for the sector to master the transition into the next age of aviation. This report shows how this can be done and is just a starting point for many more encounters to follow. We are committed to listening and engaging with Millennials to expand our horizons together,” he said.

ThinkYoung’s Founder and Chief Thinker Andrea Gerosa said the survey would be a valuable resource for the business aviation sector as it moved to expand its reach. “Millennials are rarely asked what they think, but they will determine our future. EBAA has looked two steps ahead: they have asked the Next Generation for their opinions on the future of transport, and they have pledged to take on board the messages from Millennials.”

The post Millennials develop positive outlook on the future of business aviation, says survey appeared first on International Finance.

“Aware of the strong potential for growth of the sector, we have been working to promote Geneva to tourists for many years now,” says Geneva Tourism CEO Philippe Vignon. “We are very proud of this award which acknowledges the efforts made this year by various stakeholders in Geneva, including our team. This success confirms that Geneva has all it takes to attract tourists in search of an unforgettable weekend in Europe.“

The ideal destination for a city break

Tourism stakeholders attending the award ceremony praised Geneva as an attractive tourist destination offering high quality services to visitors, while escaping the downsides of mass tourism that affect many other major European cities. Beautifully situated on the shores of Lake Geneva and within a stone’s throw of the Alps, Geneva is easy to access thanks to excellent land and air connections. Its accommodation offer is outstanding with the availability of great weekend deals. Additionally, the high number of pioneering services available; including free public transport, access to many activities at reduced rates with the Geneva Pass, a year-long rich cultural programme and even customised tours make Geneva the ideal destination for a weekend break in Europe.

City breakers, a central focus alongside advanced digital expertise

With a clear market position and success-driven strategy, Geneva Tourism has been working for many years to implement and promote a series of ground-breaking products tailored to meet the needs of city breakers. In line with this, Geneva Tourism has developed invaluable expertise in digital technology, a key driver of its marketing strategy. Head of Marketing at Geneva Tourism, Vincent Dubi, has commented:

“Several factors, including the emergence of the internet, have considerably impacted the tourism industry. Nowadays, most Europeans book their own holidays. We have successfully negotiated this change by strengthening our digital hub in order to be able to speak the same language as city breakers and therefore promote Geneva in the best and most innovative way possible among our target audience. In Switzerland, Geneva is a pioneer in the fieldand our digital leadership has certainly been a great help in successfully positioning Geneva as the ideal destination for weekend breaks.”

The development of a comprehensive website available in eight languages, sophisticated social networking strategies with pages tailored to different markets, comprehensive digital campaigns, and utilising bloggers and key influencers are just some examples of the initiatives implemented by Geneva Tourism.

The special attention paid to welcoming European visitors and cutting-edge digital expertise have undoubtedly helped Geneva stand out from its competitors and achieve an unprecedented hat trick in becoming the leading European city break destination for 2017.

The post Geneva voted 2017 best European city break destination appeared first on International Finance.

July 12, 2016: Surf Air, the all-you-can-fly membership club, announced the launch of its European operations, offering unlimited air travel to businesses and consumers for a monthly fee from October onwards.

Travelling aboard a state of the art executive jet, Surf Air routes will include multiple flights between UK’s London Luton Airport, Cannes, Geneva and Zurich. There will also be weekend flights to the likes of Ibiza, with further regular destinations to include the likes of Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona planned to be introduced in 2017.

Members of the service will pay a monthly fee of £2500, which will allow them to fly unlimited between destinations and also offer friends and family guest passes from £750 one way. Booking can be done either online or through an app.

“The whole aim of Surf Air is to combine simplicity and convenience, giving business and leisure travellers across Europe a new way to fly that saves valuable time,” said Simon Talling-Smith, CEO of Surf Air in Europe. “We see our model as the future of air travel and it has been greatly received in the California market since its launch. Our innovative service provides fantastic value to regular travellers not seen elsewhere, and we look forward to expanding our club and delivering a distinctive travel experience to Europe’s top destinations.”

Previously nicknamed the ‘Uber’ or ‘Netflix’ of air travel, this European expansion is a sign of the success Surf Air’s disruptive travel model has brought to the industry. Launched in California in 2013 as the country’s first private membership airline, Surf Air now has 3000 members. With up to 90 daily flights to 13 destinations in and around the state, members are able to enjoy an all-you-can-fly service without the hassle and frustration of commercial travel.

Said Surf Air Chairman, Sudhin Shahani, “We are incredibly excited for the launch of a European business led by highly capable aviation and subscription business veteran Simon Talling-Smith.  This is a great step to further Surf Air’s growth objective of providing a game-changing product for frequent travellers across major business routes globally.”

The post Surf Air comes to Europe appeared first on International Finance.

Mustapha Mensah & Gloria Ofosu-Kusi

McOttley Capital Limited, the investment wing of McOttley Group of Companies, over the past several years has carved a distinctive niche for itself in the investment industry due to the impeccable service it offers its clients. Both corporate and individual clients throughout Ghana have come to associate McOttley Capital with unparalleled performance and quality of service.

As a testament to this, McOttley was recently recognized for its commitment to quality, leadership, technology, innovation and excellence by the BID Group in Geneva, Switzerland when it was bestowed with the 2015 BID Group International Star Award for Quality. This has made the firm, which was founded to provide the investment industry with robust, unique and economically versatile investment solutions, an exemplary model for others.

The firm has over the years provided services to its clients amongst, which are investment advisory service, research and due diligence and corporate finance services. McOttley Capital provides Investment Advisory Services to institutions and corporations to allow them to make shrewd and defining investment decisions on their personal investments and corporate financial issues.

The exhaustive research, due diligence and market analysis of the global and national economic atmosphere conducted by their highly competent research professionals serve as a financial compass, which effectively directs them as to which investment route to guide their clients and enable them reach their investment time horizon. Wholly taking into consideration their fiduciary responsibility, they are also able to offer their own expert and masterfully devised products to their clients where appropriate.

Knowing the client

Investors typically are exposed to a high level of investment risk in meeting their personal and corporate investment objectives. McOttley Investment Advisory Services seek to limit the risk by focusing on broad diversification with a disciplined approach. McOttley has the professional expertise to help clients achieve both their short-term and long-term investment goals. Together with their clients, they clearly establish their investment time horizon and goals, tolerance for risk, prudence and diversification  standards on which to preserve their investment process. McOttley Investment Advisory Services support clients and meet their investment philosophy by offering services which include:

• Venture Capital Financing
• Private Equity Financing
• Corporate Valuations and Share Pricing
• Corporate Restructuring and Turn-around
• Fund Management
• Capital Market analysis
• Mergers and Acquisitions

The Investment Advisory Services offer critical and thorough assessment of the investment objectives and address the expectations of clients.

McOttley Capital: Where the client is king

One key factor that has succeeded in setting McOttley Capital apart as a distinguished institution is quality client service. At McOttley Capital, they never lose sight of the fact that their success as a company is greatly attributed to their cherished clients, and they always ensure that they treat customers with the best of service. At McOttley, the client is indeed king. Every member of the staff of the firm conscientiously works to guarantee excellence in client service. Whether clients come in with simple enquiries concerning their investments decisions or with the intention of investing, they are fully attended to. Clients are enlightened on the numerous options available for investing by way of product portfolio. They are convinced of the track record of McOttley Capital, and therefore entrust their investment with the firm.

McOttley Capital believes that one never gets a second chance to make a first impression and ensure that their clients’ first impression of them is a lasting and worthy one. By always prioritising their clients, giving them their fullest attention and offering every bit of help they can offer, they endeavour to support them to achieve whatever financial goals they may have.

In a company where going the extra mile is in their DNA, clients do not unduly worry about their maturities, roll-overs or any other administrative processes for their investments; staff make these processes as simple as possible. Clients are personally contacted for directives on maturities a week prior to the specific dates, all redemption or roll-over intentions are promptly handled requiring only clients’ instructions.

At McOttley, clients are not just customers but individuals whose every transaction with them and slightest sliver of trust placed in them have built this company brick by brick, and helped them rise to the heights they have reached. Their occasional courtesy phone calls and visits to their clients to check on their welfare, complimentary gifts of opening a collective investment scheme account for their high-net worth clients, dispatching presents to clients on special occasions and distinct programmes designed to revolve around their clients, such as their Customer Service Week, are all in a bid to ensure they build a solid relationship with their clients to enable them serve their clients better.

The firm also embarks on programmes to present themselves to their clients by visiting schools, churches, corporate bodies and individuals to ensure that what they represent and can provide them by way of seamless capital solutions are readily available to them.

These activities and engagements on which they embark on behalf of their clients, to ensure their complete satisfaction with the service they provide them, are not simply things they do but are the cogs that drive the organisation and its growth.

The post McOttley Capital leads the way in Ghana appeared first on International Finance.