NETJETS, the business jet operator, gambled on a private aviation boom in Europe yesterday with a $1.1 billion (£580 million) order for 24 Falcon 7X aircraft from Dassault Aviation, the French aerospace group.

The United States-based NetJets, part of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway investment vehicle, said that the order was the largest in the history of European business aviation. Mark Booth, the head of NetJets Europe, said: “The size of this order clearly demonstrates the significant demand for our product, which has effectively revolutionised travel on this continent.”

The deal comes with analysts predicting continued growth for an industry that has enjoyed rapid expansion in America. They foresee a similar phenomenon in Europe.

The tri-engine Falcon 7X sells for about $40 million, can carry eight passengers and a crew of four and has a range of about 11,000km (6,800 miles), enabling it to compete for transatlantic custom. The fleet will be delivered over a six-year period, starting in 2008.

NetJets operates a fractional ownership business model, under which customers acquire a stake and flying time in a business jet. NetJets shares start at $406,250 for a one-sixteenth interest and 50 hours of flying in a light Hawker 400XP. Of 14,000 business jets worldwide, about 10,000 operate in the US. Richard T. Santulli, the chief executive of NetJets, said recently that Europe had been a “nightmare” market for the private aviation industry because the rich there were wary of flaunting their wealth.

However, the signs point to a turnaround, with Europe likely to take a bigger proportion of the 10,000 jets that analysts expect to be sold in the world over the next decade.

NetJets Europe, which in 2002 operated 14 aircraft and had 89 clients, has a fleet of 112 planes and claims 1,250 customers today. It says that its biggest rivals are Gestair, which has 18 aircraft, and Eurofly Service, which flies 16.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, the number of private aviation journeys involving London airports is growing by 10 per cent a year.

Shares in Dassault Aviation, which already has orders for 90 Falcon 7X aircraft, rose by 5.36 per cent in Paris after the announcement of the deal with NetJets.

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