HOW & WHERE ARE PRIVATE FLYERS TAKING OFF IN 2018?

PrivateFly’s latest customer insights show which private jets are the most popular, how much they cost & where they are flying

PrivateFly has revealed which types of private jets are most popular with its clients, and how much they are paying for typical on-demand trips. In the first quarter of 2018, flights ranged from £4,780 for a 30-minute hop in a small jet, to £202,900 for a long-range flight from Palma to Los Angeles.

The insights are from PrivateFly’s latest edition of Private Jet Charter Trends, which looks at the booking and flying behaviour of its global private jet customers during January to March 2018 (Q1). The private jet booking service sees over 100,000 flight searches per month on its website and app.

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Adam Twidell, CEO of PrivateFly, comments on the findings: “While on-demand charter gives our clients a choice from a very large range of aircraft – we flew them on 81 different models in the first quarter of this year - some are more popular than others. Many factors influence customers’ choice of aircraft, including reputation, reliability, price and safety. These are some of the hottest jets of the moment.”

The small one: Citation Mustang | Position #1 | Typical route & cost: London to Paris for £5,200 (day return)

Adam Twidell comments: “As most private jet trips are for 2-4 passengers flying for under two hours, at the very top of the popularity list is the 4-seat Citation Mustang, Europe’s number one ‘air taxi’. Cessna models took the top three positions in Q1, with several of its small and medium jets hitting a sweet spot of reliability, availability and price.”

The big one: Gulfstream GIV | Position #10 | Typical route & cost: London to New York for £59,500 (one-way)

Adam Twidell comments: “Our most popular long range jet in Q1 was the Gulfstream GIV (also known as a G4), offering a luxury, large cabin experience for longer flights, and in some cases for short flights – when customers want to make a VIP impact or for larger groups.”

The one-to-watch: HondaJet | Typical route & cost: Brussels to London for £5,700 (day return)

“The established models by Cessna and Embraer have been the go-to entry-level jet for many years, but they’re looking over their shoulder at some rivals. The HondaJet is leading the newcomers pack right now, becoming more widely available in Europe this year - more and more of our clients are using it. The Pilatus PC-12 turboprop and PC-24 jet are also rapidly moving up through the ranks.”

Other findings from the new report include:

• Los Angeles was a top 3 global destination for the first time, topped only by London (#1) and Paris (#2).
• The average flight duration was 3 hours and 4 minutes.
• March 29th (the start of the Easter weekend) was the busiest day of the quarter for take-offs.
• The proportion of customers using mobile is now equal to desktop at 46%, and significantly up on the same period in 2017.

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