Florida private jet flights surge, Texas drops

Wing-X’s Global Market Tracker shows the impact of the polar weather on private jet travel trends

Private jet activity in the U.S. reached 93% of 2020 levels during the first three weeks of a weather impacted February.

Flights to and from Florida were up 11% compared to last year while flying within the state was up 18% over 2020.

Flights between Florida and New York, Georgia, Texas, and Colorado all surged by double digits. Private jet flight departures from Utah were over 30%.

However, Texas flight demand withered in the face of the polar freeze. In the second week of February, business aviation activity from and within Texas was down by 52% year-over-year. San Antonio and Fort Worth airports saw declines of 60% in departures during the freeze.

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Charter flights continued to outperform owned aircraft, with the Sunshine State again the center of the action. West Palm Beach charter flights increased by 40% compared to 2020. There was a 20% increase in YOY charter hours during the President’s Day weekend. Flights between Florida and New York were up by 58% for February.

Globally, scheduled airline operations were down by 50% compared to 11% for private jets.

“The gap between trends in scheduled and non-scheduled aviation continues to be remarkable, with the biggest divergence in the United States. Surge in leisure demand during public holidays, and what appears to be recovery in corporate demand on the East Coast, is keeping the US market within 10% of normal, despite the Texas freeze and California lockdown,” says Richard Koe, managing director of Wing-X.