Private jets have often been seen as the preserve of presidents, pop stars and top-level business executives. But the current situation has opened the eyes of a whole new wave of leisure clients who now have more justification for this way of flying.

When the pandemic took hold, there was a flurry of private jet bookings around the world, as people attempted to get home – or to another of their homes in some cases – and companies also turned their attention to offering emergency services as point-to-point scheduled flying started drying up and borders closed.

Newly launched Victor Rescue rose to the challenge for example, including a public service of air ambulances and medical evacuations, flying essential workers – from medical staff to nuclear scientists and power plant managers – around the world while operating repatriation and rescue flights to help people stranded in various parts of the globe. And all done under Victor’s policy of double offset (200%) carbon emissions on every flight.

There’s also the perception that flying private helps avoid the risk of contracting Covid-19, as those who can afford it appreciate the higher degree of control over the service and experience that travelling in a private bubble can bring.

Victor quotes a study carried out by one of its operators, GlobeAir, which concluded a passenger flying on a scheduled flight and having to use a commercial airport would likely have to come in to contact with at least 700 touchpoints; by travelling on a charter jet, that potential danger is reduced to between 20-30 touchpoints.

“Since the pandemic hit, the perception of aircraft charter has changed, with it beginning to be viewed more broadly as a fundamental mobility and business tool, as well as an investment in the flyer’s health and safety,” says co-chief executive Toby Edwards.

“Many new customers turned to aircraft charter as a means to reach home or family quickly, efficiently, and with less risk of exposure to other flyers. There were also many of our frequent flyers looking to isolate in second homes or private islands with their family.”

One example included a British businessman who booked to travel from LA to Farnborough to the Maldives, where he continued onto a private island shared with family and friends. “Wing-to-wing flying was of the upmost importance to him, as was using a private airport such as Farnborough, in order to minimise contamination and exposure,” Edwards adds. “Touching down in Farnborough, the client changed from a Gulfstream to a Global Express for the final leg, with the total journey costing £250,000.”

The high life

The combination of widespread disruption to scheduled services and consumers’ fear of exposure to Covid-19 when travelling via traditional options, means interest in private jet travel is now at all-time high, many in the sector say.

Victor’s London office – which services EMEA & APAC – saw a huge 75% increase in sales year-on-year in the first two weeks of July.

“Enquiry levels are much higher than the same period last year; we have been receiving double the number of enquiries in July and August, compared to 2019,” agrees Adam Twidell, chief executive of PrivateFly. “By the end of the summer, our bookings were also ahead of last year – despite business travel remaining largely on hold.”

And it looks like shaping up to be a more sustained trend, even as more commercial airlines come back into the skies.

“In June and July we saw a rise in leisure enquiries for flights from the UK to Europe – on a quiet day until then, we had been operating two flights a day, but our busiest day for June was 21 flights; we’ve now operated around 10% more flights year-on-year,” says George Galanopoulos, co-founder and chief executive of Luxaviation UK.

Meanwhile this year has also seen the launch of a new private jet brand called Aero, offering by-the-seat fares on a 16-seat all-aisle customised ERJ135. It flies between private terminals in London, Geneva, Mykonos, Ibiza, Nice and Naples, confirming flights once demand is filled and with seats from €825. The start-up has also ensured health considerations are covered in the current climate. 

Quick quarantines

As everyone tries to acclimatize to transport secretary Grant Shapps’ Thursday (or now sometimes Monday) tweets on which countries are “in and out”, while overall, it inevitably dampens demand and confidence, the private jet business is seeing spikes of activity when country changes are announced.

“Once a new country has been added to the quarantine list, we do see some requests from travellers trying to get home – we definitely saw it with France,” says Galanopoulos.

In August, PrivateFly saw three times the level of enquiries for flights out of France, and double the number of enquiries for flights out of Croatia. It also continues to receive enquiries from those booked to travel to destinations that have been added – or look set to be added – in the coming weeks so clients can change their travel plans to avoid quarantine.

“We saw enquires more than triple as concerned Brits look to make alternative travel plans and return home ahead of the 4am Saturday curfews,” says Justin Bowman, chief executive of Air Charter Service. “On the flip side, Brits are also looking to book last minute trips to newly accessible destinations such as when Portugal was first opened up to Brits.”

Kathy Leroy, VIP charter manager for Chapman Freeborn, has also seen the demand around UK quarantine measures rise.

“Keen to avoid 14 days of isolation upon their return to the UK, customers have been contacting us frantically to charter private jets to bring them home before the deadlines kick in. Our department has been extraordinarily busy since these kinds of decisions have been announced,” she says.

But she cautions that so many short notice changes are making some clients reluctant to travel now overall. “Additionally, with the much-curtailed summer season ending, we expect to see less and less demand going forwards into the autumn and winter.”

Short notice bookings have also historically been a plus point of a private jet booking, something travellers are appreciating even more in the new Covid landscape.

In August, 88% of Victor’s departures from the UK were due to take off less than one month after the booking, versus 73% in August 2019. For Air Charter Service, more than half (56%) of its private jet bookings are being made within three days of travelling; in comparison, before lockdown, its customers typically booked flights between one week and one month in advance.

New wave

The situation is leading to a completely new wave of customers investigating the options for flying private. Pre-pandemic, 25% of PrivateFly’s flights would have been for new clients, but since March, this has shifted up to 45% of business.

“We’ve seen a big rise in newcomers to private jet travel in recent months, and many existing clients are choosing to fly more often too, as the privacy, flexibility and control afforded by private aviation continues to appeal while Covid-19 persists,” explains Twidell.

These range from travellers who would usually fly first or business class but are now looking to avoid busy airport terminals and near-term scheduled cancellations; to occasional private jet users flying this way more frequently amid continued uncertainty, whether for family holidays, travel to second homes, or repatriations and relocations, with routes orientated around popular summer holiday destinations.

Following the Government’s air bridge announcement on 3 July, Air Charter Service says there was a 258% increase in private jet enquiries for that weekend (3-6 July), of which 93% were from new customers. And in July overall, 44% of its bookings were from first-time customers.

Apollo Air Services, which specialises in private helicopter travel, has also seen a 40% increase since June in year-on-year enquiries, with half of those being from new customers.

“Many first time customers are now looking towards helicopter travel as an alternative means to travel around the UK, Ireland and northern Europe because of the privacy, space, being able to travel as a close “bubble” of friends or family and the complete flexibility on where you take off and land – clients can even take off from their own back garden,” says Apollo’s director Steve Graham.

Trade boost

The good news for the trade is that companies such as Victor and PrivateFly work with agents, and PrivateFly is already the preferred private jet charter partner for Virtuoso and The Advantage Travel Partnership, for example.

Trade business has also been boosted this year, according to PrivateFly, with enquiries via trade partners – such as travel agents, concierges and yacht brokers – leaping up by 85% this summer.

“Trade partners are telling us their clients want to get away but are reluctant to fly on airlines until the risk of Covid-19 has reduced significantly – particularly those with families, or who are older or in higher risk groups,” says Twidell. “So agents are increasingly looking at private aviation as a solution, so holidays can go ahead safely and with peace of mind.”

“From May to July, we have seen a 50% average growth in bookings through travel agents,” says Air Charter Services’ Bowman, “and we are expecting this number to increase over the coming months. Customers who might usually travel by businesses or first class are now choosing to fly privately and we believe there is an opportunity for travel agents to tap into this trend.”

Victor also has special partnerships in place with the likes of Scott Dunn, whereby Victor members can earn Alto frequent flyer points on their Scott Dunn holiday to redeem off future jet charter.

There are opportunities too with Bartelings, whose sole focus is working with the travel trade, says managing director Gary Bartelings.

“We are a B2B organisation and our background is in aviation and tour operating so we understand the demands put on travel agents and tour operators. Our approach is to assist travel agents by education and supporting them when they do have requests as many agents won’t have regular enquiries so might find it a bit daunting to handle an enquiry. That is where we support with suggestions and advise to assist them in securing a booking.”