Florida, Asia and Middle East private jet flights surge as overall flying dips 7% week-over-week

As private aviation struggles to cope with the continued surge in demand, with several exceptions, Week 43 saw a downward trend from the prior week, according to WingX.

For the week ending Oct. 31, global private jet flights dropped 7% week-over-week, with U.S. flights down 9%.

Still, globally and in the U.S., private flights were 18% ahead of Week 43 in 2019 and up 20% over the same trailing four-week period pre-pandemic.

Florida private jet flights spike again

While California and Texas both saw week-to-week drops, Florida continued its unabated growth, up 9% week-over-week.

Sunshine State private jet flights for Week 43 were 50% ahead of 2019 levels and 46% ahead of the same most recent four weeks in 2019.

Middle East private flights were up 19% week-over-week, while Asia private flights increased by 14% on the same basis.

Total – Private Jet Flight Activity Analysis – 2021 – Week 43

MarketLast Week (Flights)% Change vs. prior week% Change vs. 2019Last 4 Weeks (Flights)% Change vs. 2019
Global70,382-7%18%294,61420%
North America53,257-8%14%225,05716%
USA48,922-9%18%208,24320%
Florida6,8099%50%24,81446%
California4,964-11%17%21,42520%
Texas5,232-7%20%21,56219%
Europe12,789-3%34%53,24433%
UK1,736-2%38%7,12830%
Germany1,5753%22%6,35017%
France1,719-7%22%7,56822%
Switzerland874-2%43%3,52744%
Italy1,171-7%44%5,02248%
Middle East1,51419%41%5,44945%
Africa7382%82%2,80564%
Asia2,04814%14%7,27910%
South America1,147-5%75%4,71276%
Source: WingX for Private Jet Card Comparisons. Includes Jets and VIP Airliners.

Shared jets – those operated for fractional owners, on-demand, and jet card charters saw activity fall 13% globally.

Part 135 and 91k flights in the U.S. were down 17% week-over-week. In fact, they were below 2019 levels for Week 43.

The week-over-week decline for the second week in a row means that U.S. fractional and charter flights were 3% below pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

It may be a welcome break for an industry that has been struggling to cope with surging demand combined with both labor and supply chain issues.

Part 135/91K – Private Jet Flight Activity Analysis – 2021 – Week 43

Market (Part 91K & Part135)Last Week (Flights)% Change vs. prior week% Change vs. 2019Last 4 Weeks (Flights)% Change vs. 2019
Global29,691-13%-1%126,1822%
North America20,444-17%-14%88,036-10%
USA19,866-17%-8%86,108-3%
Florida2,940-3%12%11,00715%
California2,382-18%-8%10,343-5%
Texas1,782-13%-7%7,350-9%
Europe8,730-3%53%36,29250%
UK1,2492%55%5,05743%
Germany1,009-0.1%45%4,10540%
France1,182-5%39%5,08038%
Switzerland637-6%69%2,58765%
Italy883-9%58%3,84663%
Middle East66323%67%2,44169%
Africa18226%43%61329%
Asia31358%36%87710%
South America1838%-47%73-46%
Source: WingX for Private Jet Card Comparisons. Includes Jets and VIP Airliners.

Major U.S. markets were all down, and even Florida flights were in the red by 3% week-over-week.

Still, some markets saw gains in charter and fractional operator flights. Asia flights were up 58% compared to Week 42, while flights in South American were 38% up. Flights in Africa and the Middle East both had gains of better than 20% week-over-week.

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