December 5, 2024
Flight hours by fractional private jet operators increased 49% to 751,712 hours last year, according to Argus TraqPak.
NetJets, which invented fractional ownership and is still the leader over 30 years later, increased its dominant position.
2021’s 30 Biggest Charter/Fractional Private Jet Companies Ranked (Full Year) 25 Largest Part 135 Private Jet Charter Companies for 2021 ranked 25 Busiest U.S. Private Jet Airports in 2021 2021 Private Jet Flights by State-by-State Charter/Fractional Private Jet Market Share 2007-to-2021
The Berkshire Hathaway-owned private aviation company stopped selling jet cards in August, creating a waitlist. It then put interim leases for new share buyers on hold in October. Nevertheless, NetJets increased flight hours by 59.1%, outpacing the market.
The result is NetJets’ share of flight hours by fractional operators jumped 4.4 points to 63.65%. Its results mirrored Executive Jet Management, the company’s management and charter arm. EJM moved from third to second on the list of Part 135 charter operators powered by a 67% increase in flight hours.
| Rank | Operator Name | 2021 Hours | 2021 Share | 2020 Hours | 2020 Share |
| 1 | NetJets | 478,444 | 63.65% | 298,904 | 59.21% |
| 2 | Flexjet | 178,053 | 23.69% | 134,481 | 26.64% |
| 3 | PlaneSense | 42,907 | 5.71% | 31,150 | 6.17% |
| 4 | Airshare | 20,955 | 2.79% | 11,835 | 2.34% |
| 5 | AirSprint | 19,032 | 2.53% | 10,112 | 2.00% |
| 6 | West Coast Charters | 4,592 | 0.61% | 3,939 | 0.78% |
| 7 | Northern Jet Management | 3,396 | 0.45% | 4,691 | 0.93% |
| Total Flight Hours | 751,712 | 504,821 |
Directional Aviation’s Flexjet remained an undisputed second place in the rankings of fractional private jet operators with a 32.4% growth of flight hours. It also suspended sales of jet cards to new customers, although it is offering renewals under adjusted terms.
Both NetJets and Flexjet have announced they are making massive additions to their fleets to accommodate the record demand for private flights.
PlaneSense expanded the ferry-fee-free area for its Pilatus PC-12 program to the West Coast, It stays a clear third, according to Argus.
Airshare, which is adding Bombardier Challenger 350s to its fleet, stayed in the fourth spot with flight hours increasing by nearly 100%.
Argus defines fractional operators as a company that sells or leases shares of business aircraft that are listed with the FAA if greater than 50% of their aircraft have shares available.
The Argus TraqPak data represents aircraft arrival and departure information on all IFR flights in the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii, Canada, and the Caribbean.
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