Private Jet Usage Is Increasing for 2 Reasons

• Private jet travel has increased in recent years, and two big changes explain why.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many people to choose private planes.
• Meanwhile, more affordable options for on-demand private jets have proliferated.

Private flying has become much more popular in the last few years.

Between 2019 and 2023, the number of miles flown by private jets increased by 53 percent, while the number of private planes increased by 28 percent. A new and important study It was published in Nature.

This increase in private flights has been driven by two big factors: the pandemic and the abundance of more affordable options for private flights.

When the pandemic emerged in 2020, both commercial and private flights came to a near halt. However, soon private jet travel increased rapidly. commercial flights remain depressed.

During commercial airline travel In the US, there was a 27% decrease between 2019 and 2021, while business jet flights increased by approximately 27% during the same period. From 3.8 million to approximately 4.4 million. Many of those who manage to avoid cramped commercial airline cabins and the increased exposure to the virus that comes with it chose to rent or purchase a private plane.

Meanwhile, fractional ownership of private aircraft, codeshare services, subscriptions to private jet companies and other on-demand private flight options have also increased much more popular And made private flying more accessible and affordable.

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New services have made it possible to find and book private flights from a smartphone. While buying a private plane can cost millions of dollars, optional private flights are available for a fee through newer services like Blade As little as $1,700 to jet New York City to Miami. It’s not much more than that price tag of about $1000 This is a typical first class commercial ticket between these two cities.

In the years since the COVID-19 outbreak, industry experts say Customers have a higher budget for travel and are more willing to spend more to make the trip luxurious. Those who fly privately today say that the biggest reasons for this are saving time and convenience. a new survey special flyers available.

Private jet usage peaked in 2022 and declined slightly last year. But private travel still continued 17% higher in 2023 More than in 2019. Demand for private plane travel increased this year fell a little more because costs have increased. The industry expects the number of private aircraft to increase grow by almost a third Until 2033.

The increase in flights has led to increased carbon emissions from private jets. The Nature study found that climate warming emissions will increase by 46% between 2019 and 2023.

Private jets emit 14 times more climate-warming pollution per passenger than commercial airliners, according to a report by NGO Transport and Environment. in 2021This is largely due to lower passenger loads and shorter flights.

The United States is the largest global hub for private aviation. While the US is home to approximately 4% of the world’s population, the Nature study noted that approximately 69% of private jets are registered there.

US taxpayers heavily subsidizing private jet travel. Private jet passengers pay only two percent of the taxes used to fund the Federal Aviation Administration, even though they make up one in six flights handled by the FAA’s air traffic controllers. According to a report published in May 2023 By the Institute for Policy Studies and Patriotic Millionaires. Private jets also use about 3,000 smaller airports that are not used by the nation’s commercial airlines but are partially funded by the FAA, according to the 2023 report.