Here's where the private jets were flying for the July 4th holiday

While airline passenger counts remained 75% below last year’s levels, private jet flights increased 5% during America’s birthday Independence Day holiday in 2020.

By Doug Gollan, July 10, 2020

– The 50 Busiest Private Jet Airports during the holidays

– Airports with the most significant increases and decreases in private jets

– The most popular private jet routes for the July 4th holiday

As airline passenger levels remained 75% below last year, a detailed analysis by Private Jet Card Comparisons of data from WingX shows that private jet flights were up year-over-year by 5% and where they were going.

Typically a niche segment, private jets are becoming more critical to the travel and tourism industry, which, before the COVID-19 pandemic, supported 10% of worldwide jobs.

The average spend per private jet arrival is about $85,000, excluding fuel and airport charges.

As the travel industry attempts to recover, private aviation provides an opportunity to attract big spenders who can help offset lower volumes.

Travel Bubbles For Private Jets

A top tourism official from Thailand recently said he expects his country will create a travel bubble specific to private jet arrivals.

At the same time, Consumer Reports’ petition urging the U.S. Transportation Department Secretary to issue stringent guidelines to airlines regarding keeping planes clean and social distancing in airports has received over 26,000 signatures.

Reduced airline schedules and affluent consumers’ trepidation about boarding packed planes have led to a surge in new users of private flights. NetJets, Sentient Jets, Vista Jet, Magellan Jets, Air Partner, Jet Linx, and others have all reported record sales to newbies.

One analysis shows the risk of exposure to the virus without a cure is 30 times lower when flying privately.

For those who had and now have access to private aviation, Richard Koe, managing director of WingX, called the recent Independence holiday period “a release moment.”

The analyzed data covers private jet flights arriving and departing in the U.S. and within 220 miles of the border for similar Wednesday to Sunday periods. In 2019, the 4th fell on a Thursday. This year, it was Saturday.

Overall, private jet flights increased from 41,560 to 43,438 in the period.

July 4th Holiday Private Jet Travel Trends

In this article, we give you six cuts of the data related to the July 4th holiday period:

2020’s 50 Busiest Private Jet Airports
Airports With the Biggest Increase of Private Jets (Flights)
Airports With the Biggest Increase of Private Jets (Percentage)
Airports With the Biggest Decrease of Private Jets (Flights)
Airports With Biggest Decreases in Private Jet Flights (Percentage)
Busiest Private Jet Routes

Thirty-five of the 50 busiest airports for private jet flights (table below) saw increases compared to 2019.

Dallas Love Field was the busiest airport this year (711 movements), moving up from sixth place in 2019.

Los Angeles’ Van Nuys Airport followed it at 676 flights, up from the third spot last year, and Teterboro Airport in Northern New Jersey (662) in the third spot, down from its first place perch.

Aspen, Colorado (645) moved up into fourth place, while Palm Beach International Airport (551) jumped from the 16th busiest to fifth place. John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California (532) rose from seventh to sixth. Westchester County Airport (528) north of New York City dropped from fourth to seventh. Denver’s Centennial Airport (526) hopped up four spots into the eighth slot.

1. 2020’s 50 Busiest Private Jet Airports

Airport	2019 Flights	2020 Flights	Increase/ Decrease	% Change
1. Dallas – Love Field – KDAL	569	711	142	25.0%
2. Los Angeles – Van Nuys -KVNY	623	676	53	8.5%
3. New York – Teterboro – KTEB	897	662	-235	-26.2%
4. Aspen, Colorado – KASE	590	645	55	9.3%
5. Palm Beach International – KPBI	330	551	221	67.0%
6. Orange County – John Wayne -KSNA	459	532	73	15.9%
7. New York – Westchester County – KHPN	609	528	-81	-13.3%
8. Denver – Centennial – KAPA	375	526	151	40.3%
9. Las Vegas – McCarran – KLAS	766	510	-256	-33.4%
10. Houston – Hobby – KHOU	454	465	11	2.4%
11. Phoenix – Scottsdale – KSDL	240	438	198	82.5%
12. Vail – Eagle – KEGE	345	420	75	21.7%
13. Atlanta – Peachtree – KPDK	337	398	61	18.1%
14. Washington DC – Dulles – KIAD	387	379	-8	-2.1%
15. Miami – Opa-Locka – KOPF	305	368	63	20.7%
16. Chicago – Midway – KMDW	416	364	-52	-12.5%
17. Nantucket – KACK	439	357	-82	-18.7%
18. Jackson Hole – KJAC	245	355	110	44.9%
19. Salt Lake City – KSLC	297	345	48	16.2%
20. Naples – Florida – KAPF	189	327	138	73.0%
21. Chicago – Executive – KPWK	240	322	82	34.2%
22. Austin – Bergstrom – KAUS	245	319	74	30.2%
23. Bozeman – Montana – KBZN	174	308	134	77.0%
24. San Jose – Mineta – KSJC	307	287	-20	-6.5%
25. Westhampton – NY – KFOK	296	287	-9	-3.0%
26. Nashville – KBNA	231	268	37	16.0%
27. Oakland, Michigan – KPTK	229	266	37	16.2%
28. Ft. Lauderdale – Executive – KFXE	238	263	25	10.5%
29. Boston – Hanscom Field – KBED	242	260	18	7.4%
30. Seattle – Boeing Field – KBFI	302	255	-47	-15.6%
31. Carlsbad – McClellan – KCRQ	184	247	63	34.2%
32. Northwest Florida – KECP	210	241	31	14.8%
33. Oakland – California – KOAK	355	230	-125	-35.2%
34. Los Angeles – Bob Hope – KBUR	254	228	-26	-10.2%
35. Sarasota – Bradenton – KSRQ	125	221	96	76.8%
36. Florida International – KFLL	157	220	63	40.1%
37. Fort Worth – Meacham – KFTW	199	216	17	8.5%
38. Boca Raton – KBCT	155	215	60	38.7%
39. San Antonio – KSAT	240	210	-30	-12.5%
40. Dallas – Addison – KADS	184	202	18	9.8%
41. Columbus – Ohio – KCMH	148	202	54	36.5%
42. Los Angeles Int’l – KLAX	211	199	-12	-5.7%
43. Sun Valley – Idaho – KSUN	242	196	-46	-19.0%
44. Cincinnati – Lunken – KLUK	160	187	27	16.9%
45. Destin – Florida – KDTS	198	185	-13	-6.6%
46 – Tampa – KTPA	162	184	22	13.6%
47. – Charlotte – Douglas – KCLT	134	182	48	35.8%
48. Kansas City – Downtown – KMKC	122	179	57	46.7%
49. Farmingdale – New York – KFRG	130	177	47	36.2%
50. Savannah – Georgia – KSAV	146	175	29	19.9%

Source: WingX

The 10 airports with the most significant increase in flights (table below) were Palm Beach International with an increase of 221 takeoffs and landings. Scottsdale Municipal Airport was second with an increase of 198 flights, followed by Centennial (151), Love Field (142), Naples, Florida (138), Bozeman, Montana (134), Jackson Hole, Wyoming (110), Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida (96), Chicago Executive, Illinois (82), and Vail, Colorado (75).

2. Airports With Biggest Increase in Private Jet Flights

Airport	2019 Flights	2020 Flights	Increase in Flights	% Change
1. Palm Beach International – KPBI	330	551	221	67.0%
2. Phoenix – Scottsdale – KSDL	240	438	198	82.5%
3. Denver – Centennial – KAPA	375	526	151	40.3%
4. Dallas – Love Field – KDAL	569	711	142	25.0%
5. Naples – Florida -KAPF	189	327	138	73.0%
6. Bozeman – Montana – KBZN	174	308	134	77.0%
7. Jackson Hole – Wyoming – KJAC	245	355	110	44.9%
8. Sarasota – Florida -KSRQ	125	221	96	76.8%
9. Chicago – Executive -KPWK	240	322	82	34.2%
10. Vail – Eagle – KEGE	345	420	75	21.7%
11. Austin – Bergstrom – KAUS	245	319	74	30.2%
12. Orange County – John Wayne – KSNA	459	532	73	15.9%
13. Glacier Park, Montana – KGPI	105	174	69	65.7%
14. Stuart – Florida – KSUA	78	142	64	82.1%
15. Miami – Opa-Locka – KOPF	305	368	63	20.7%
16. Carlsbad – California – KCRQ	184	247	63	34.2%
17. Ft. Lauderdale – International – KFLL	157	220	63	40.1%
18. Traverse City – Michigan – KTVC	100	162	62	62.0%
19. Atlanta – Peachtree – KPDK	337	398	61	18.1%
20, Boca Raton – Florida – KBCT	155	215	60	38.7%
21. Kansas City – Downtown – KMKC	122	179	57	46.7%
22 – Aspen – Colorado – KASE	590	645	55	9.3%
23. Missoula – Montana – KMSO	47	102	55	117.0%
24. Columbus – Ohio – KCMH	148	202	54	36.5%
25. St. Pete-Clearwater – Florida – KPIE	90	144	54	60.0%

Source: WingX

Looking at airports that had the biggest percentage increases with a minimum of 50 movements in the period (table below), seven saw traffic more than double, led by Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport where flights spiked 126% from 31 to 70.

Missoula, Montana and Palm Springs, California were in a virtual dead heat with flight volume soaring 117%. Lake Tahoe, California (116%), Rapid City, South Dakota (116%), Minden-Tahoe, Nevada (116%), and Hawthorne, California (115%) all saw triple-digit increases.

Rapid City, where flights increased from 31 to 67, is the closest airport to Mount Rushmore, where President Donald J. Trump spoke during a celebration and fireworks display on July 3rd.

3. Airports With Biggest % Increase in Private Jet Flights

Airport	2019 Flights	2020 Flights	Increase in Flights	% Change
1. Southern Wisconsin Regional – KJVL	31	70	39	125.8%
2. Missoula – Montana – KMSO	47	102	55	117.0%
3. Palm Springs – California – KPSP	24	52	28	116.7%
4. Lake Tahoe – California – KTVL	37	80	43	116.2%
5. Rapid City – South Dakota – KRAP	31	67	36	116.1%
6. Tahoe – Minden – Nevada – KMEV	25	54	29	116.0%
7. Los Angeles – Hawthorne – KHHR	27	58	31	114.8%
8. Jackson – Mississippi – KJAN	27	53	26	96.3%
9. Syracuse – New York – KSYR	27	51	24	88.9%
10. Austin – Executive – KEDC	45	84	39	86.7%

Source: WingX

Despite Las Vegas reopening in June, McCarran Airport saw the most significant decrease (table below) in private jet movements (-256 flights). That dropped it from second place in 2019 to ninth place this year in terms of volume.

In terms of declines, it was followed by Teterboro (-235 flights), Oakland, California (-125), Boston Logan (-99), Nantucket, Massachusetts (-82), Westchester County (-81), Marsh Harbor, Bahamas (-71), Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts (-69), Morristown, New Jersey (-60), and New Orleans Lakefront (-59).

4. Airports With Biggest Decreases in Private Jet Flights

Airport	2019 Flights	2020 Flights	Decrease in Flights	% Change
1. Las Vegas – McCarran – KLAS	766	510	-256	-33.4%
2. New York – Teterboro – KTEB	897	662	-235	-26.2%
3. Oakland – California – KOAK	355	230	-125	-35.2%
4. Boston – Logan – KBOS	203	104	-99	-48.8%
5. Nantucket – KACK	439	357	-82	-18.7%
6. New York – Westchester County – KHPN	609	528	-81	-13.3%
7. Martha’s Vineyard – KMVY	209	140	-69	-33.0%
8. Morristown – New Jersey -KMMU	223	163	-60	-26.9%
9. Hyannis – Massachusetts – KHYA	195	141	-54	-27.7%
10. Chicago – Midway – KMDW	416	364	-52	-12.5%
11. Daytona – Florida – KDAB	124	74	-50	-40.3%
12. Seattle – Boeing Field – KBFI	302	255	-47	-15.6%
13. Sun Valley – Idaho – KSUN	242	196	-46	-19.0%
14. Philadelphia – International – KPHL	205	168	-37	-18.0%
15. Charleston – Executive – KJZI	136	99	-37	-27.2%

Source: WingX

For airports with at least 50 movements (table below), on a percentage basis, the biggest decline was Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas, where flights dropped from 85 to just 14, and 84% reduction.

New Orleans Lake Front saw flights fall 69%, while New York – JFK dropped 66%, Newark was down 52%, and Adirondack Regional Airport in New York was off 51%, the only airports to see drops of at least 50%.

New York State had three of the five airports with the biggest percentage decreases. Prior to the holiday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had issued 14-day quarantine orders for people arriving from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, Tennessee, and Texas.

5. Airports With Biggest Decreases in Private Jet Flights by Percentage

Airport	2019 Flights	2020 Flights	Decrease in Flights	% Change
1. Marsh Harbor – Bahamas – MYAM	85	14	-71	-83.5%
2. New Orleans – Lake Front – KNEW	86	27	-59	-68.6%
3. New York – Kennedy – KJFK	74	25	-49	-66.2%
4. New York – Newark – KEWR	64	31	-33	-51.6%
5. Adirondack – Regional – New York – KSLK	77	38	-39	-50.6%
6. Boston – Logan – KBOS	203	104	-99	-48.8%
7. Gainesville – Florida – KGNV	66	34	-32	-48.5%
8. New Century – Olathe – Kansas – KIXD	68	36	-32	-47.1%
9. Monterrey – Del Norte – Mexico – MMAN	73	40	-33	-45.2%
10. Lebanon- New Hampshire- KLEB	59	34	-25	-42.4%

Source: WingX

In terms of busiest routes (table below), where the private jets were flying was more spread out than 2019.

The number of routes with at least 10 flights in the period dropped from 76 to 59 with the long-tail increasing this year. While in 2019 there were six routes with at least 40 flights, this year, the most trafficked route only saw 28 flights.

That busiest route was Orange County, California to Scottsdale (28 flights) followed by Van Nuys to Las Vegas (24), Las Vegas to Burbank (23), Las Vegas to Scottsdale (23), Teterboro to Aspen (23), Sun Valley, Idaho to Seattle (22), Scottsdale to Orange County and Aspen to Van Nuys, both with 20 flights.

https://privatejetcardcomparisons.com/2020/03/03/busiest-private-jet-airports-show-declines-in-2019/

Of the 25 busiest private jet routes over the 4th of July holiday (below), despite overall flights during the period increasing by 5%, 10 of the popular routes had deceases.

6. Busiest Private Jet Routes

Departure Airport	Arrival Airport	Airport Codes	2019 Flights	2020 Flights	Change
1. Orange County	Scottsdale	KSNA-KSDL	41	28	-13
2. Los Angeles – Van Nuys	Las Vegas	KVNY-KLAS	44	24	-20
3. Las Vegas	Los Angeles – Burbank	KLAS-KBUR	12	23	11
4. Las Vegas	Scottsdale	KLAS-KSDL	44	23	-21
5. New York – Teterboro	Aspen	KTEB-KASE	45	23	-22
6. Sun Valley – Idaho	Seattle – Boeing Filed	KSUN-KBFI	44	22	-22
7. Phoenix – Scottsdale	Orange County	KSDL-KSNA	8	20	12
8. Aspen	Los Angeles – Van Nuys	KASE-KVNY	46	20	-26
9. Nantucket	10. Boston – Hanscom	KACK-KBED	10	19	9
10. New York – Teterboro	Palm Beach	KTEB-KPBI	10	19	9
11. Austin – Bergstrom	Dallas – Love	KAUS-KDAL	15	19	4
12. Atlanta – Peachtree	Charlevoix – Michigan	KPTK-KCVX	12	18	6
13. Miami – Opa Locka	Westhampton – New York	KOPF-KFOK	13	17	4
14. Nantucket	New York – Teterboro	KACK-KTEB	25	17	-8
15.Westhampton – New York	New York -Teterboro	KFOK-KTEB	13	15	2
16. Bozeman – Montana	Jackson Hole	KBZN-KJAC	1	14	13
17. Concord – North Carolina	Indianapolis	KJQF-KIND	7	14	7
18. Ft. Worth – Meecham	Aspen	KFTW-KASE	7	14	7
19. New York – Teterboro	Westhampton – New York	KTEB-KFOK	10	14	4
20. Phoenix – Sky Harbor	Las Vegas	KPHX-KLAS	16	14	-2
21. Westhampton – New York	New York Westchester County	KFOK-KHPN	21	14	-7
22. Phoenix – Scottsdale	Denver – Centennial	KSDL-KAPA	3	13	10
23. Orange County	Lake Tahoe – California	KSNA-KTVL	4	13	9
24. Sun Valley – Idaho	Los Angeles – Van Nuys	KSUN-KVNY	8	13	5
25. Washington DC – Dulles	Palm Beach	KIAD-KPBI	17	13	-4