Written by 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
| Market | Last Week (Flights) | % Change vs. prior week | % Change vs. 2019 | Last 4 Weeks (Flights) | % Change vs. 2019 |
| Global | 70,382 | -7% | 18% | 294,614 | 20% |
| North America | 53,257 | -8% | 14% | 225,057 | 16% |
| USA | 48,922 | -9% | 18% | 208,243 | 20% |
| Florida | 6,809 | 9% | 50% | 24,814 | 46% |
| California | 4,964 | -11% | 17% | 21,425 | 20% |
| Texas | 5,232 | -7% | 20% | 21,562 | 19% |
| Europe | 12,789 | -3% | 34% | 53,244 | 33% |
| UK | 1,736 | -2% | 38% | 7,128 | 30% |
| Germany | 1,575 | 3% | 22% | 6,350 | 17% |
| France | 1,719 | -7% | 22% | 7,568 | 22% |
| Switzerland | 874 | -2% | 43% | 3,527 | 44% |
| Italy | 1,171 | -7% | 44% | 5,022 | 48% |
| Middle East | 1,514 | 19% | 41% | 5,449 | 45% |
| Africa | 738 | 2% | 82% | 2,805 | 64% |
| Asia | 2,048 | 14% | 14% | 7,279 | 10% |
| South America | 1,147 | -5% | 75% | 4,712 | 76% |
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. 2019 | Last 4 Weeks (Flights) | % Change vs. 2019 |
| Global | 29,691 | -13% | -1% | 126,182 | 2% |
| North America | 20,444 | -17% | -14% | 88,036 | -10% |
| USA | 19,866 | -17% | -8% | 86,108 | -3% |
| Florida | 2,940 | -3% | 12% | 11,007 | 15% |
| California | 2,382 | -18% | -8% | 10,343 | -5% |
| Texas | 1,782 | -13% | -7% | 7,350 | -9% |
| Europe | 8,730 | -3% | 53% | 36,292 | 50% |
| UK | 1,249 | 2% | 55% | 5,057 | 43% |
| Germany | 1,009 | -0.1% | 45% | 4,105 | 40% |
| France | 1,182 | -5% | 39% | 5,080 | 38% |
| Switzerland | 637 | -6% | 69% | 2,587 | 65% |
| Italy | 883 | -9% | 58% | 3,846 | 63% |
| Middle East | 663 | 23% | 67% | 2,441 | 69% |
| Africa | 182 | 26% | 43% | 613 | 29% |
| Asia | 313 | 58% | 36% | 877 | 10% |
| South America | 18 | 38% | -47% | 73 | -46% |
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.