The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has launched a media campaign to make a case for the use of business aircraft during the current economic recession. It is asking its members to distribute a letter written by EBAA president Brian Humphries that explains the benefits of business aviation to their local newspapers and media outlets. According to EBAA, the media campaign has been inspired by the negative publicity business aviation in the U.S. received in the wake of political moves to force companies receiving federal bailout funds to get rid of corporate aircraft. There have not yet been audible echoes of this sentiment in Europe, but EBAA wants to bolster the case for business aviation at a time when its growth is stalled. According to Eurocontrol statistics, the number of business aviation flights in the 27 states of the European Union last month was 16 percent down year-over-year. The like-for-like reduction for November was 17 percent. EBAA says that these falls resulted in a year-end figure that was close to the overall 2.7-percent drop in flying that it had predicted for 2008.