There was no let-up in private jet price inflation during the third quarter of 2022. The hourly cost of fixed-rate jet cards that offer guaranteed availability increased by 4% over the past 90 days.
The average hourly rate, according to Private Jet Card Comparisons’ database of more than 250 programs with fixed-rates and guaranteed availability, surged to $11,200 per hour, 33.3% ahead of December 2020 lows when the CARES Act eliminated the 7.5% Federal Excise Tax.
So far this year, the database has been updated 71 times.
Still, on-demand charter pricing is not offering a safe harbor for price shoppers.
In 10 of the 12 flight scenarios, we compare flight pricing (bottom table), the fixed-rate jet card average programs beat the lowest quotes from on-demand brokers that offer bookable dynamic pricing.
Bookable dynamic pricing means hard quotes that can be booked online in real-time as opposed to estimates that may not be accurate or available.
The average of the lowest dynamic pricing charter quotes we were able to obtain for the 12 flight scenarios was $29,974 each way, an 18% increase from Q2.
That’s a change from our Q2 private jet charter price analysis when we were able to beat fixed hourly rate jet card pricing in 10 of the 12 scenarios.
In our Q1 analysis, average jet card pricing was lower than on-demand charter quotes in seven of 12 scenarios.
Jet card hourly rates include hourly cost, fuel surcharge, and supplemental charges, plus the 7.5% Federal Excise Tax.
Overall, the average hourly rate for fixed/capped rate jet card programs is now $11,200. Taking out turboprops, the jet rate is $11,410 per hour.
Jet card prices include North American providers currently selling or renewing fixed/capped-rate jet card programs and memberships with guaranteed availability.
| Private Jet Type | Sept. 2022 Hourly Rates | Change 2022 Sept vs. June | Change from Dec 2020 |
| Turboprop | $ 6,608 | -0.6% | 48.4% |
| Very Light | $ 7,368 | -4.9% | 44.4% |
| Light | $ 8,041 | -0.1% | 43.6% |
| Midsize | $ 9,351 | 0.3% | 34.3% |
| Super Midsize | $ 12,116 | 4.0% | 31.8% |
| Large | $ 15,272 | -1.1% | 26.1% |
| Ultra-Long-Haul | $ 20,123 | 5.4% | 31.4% |
| Overall | $ 11,200 | 4.0% | 33.3% |
| Without Turboprops | $ 11,410 | 4.2% | 32.2% |
If you are looking for a silver lining, turboprops (-0.6%), light jets ( -0.1%), Midsize (+0.3%), and Large Cabin (-1.1%) jets all had decreases or negligible increases.
Large cabin jets (+5.4%) and super midsize jets (+4.0%) saw the largest price increases.
Still, the average hourly rate for a light jet stayed above the $8,000 per hour mark.
The ability to beat jet card pricing with on-demand dynamic pricing flipped in Q3, with the lowest on-demand quotes only beating average just card prices in two of 12 scenarios.
The wins for on-demand, dynamic pricing were both between Miami-Opa Locka Airport and Teterboro Airport, underscoring that the market-based pricing is typically more attractive on routes that are heavy with private jets and if you can be flexible.
For example, while the low on-demand quote for OPF-TEB on a light jet was $13,688, the high quote was $31,224.
The average fixed-rate jet card price was $22,649 for a light jet.
At the same time, the lowest instant booking on-demand quote for a midsize jet was $24,634, with a high of $39,017.
The average fixed-rate jet card price was $26,339 for a midsize jet from Miami to New York.
| Route | Type | Flight Minutes | On-Demand Charter Low | On-Demand Charter High | Jet Card Avg. |
| OPF-TEB | Light | 157 | $ 13,688 | $ 31,224 | $ 22,649 |
| OKC-PIT | Light | 133 | $ 19,789 | $ 31,224 | $ 19,432 |
| BFI-PSP | Light | 141 | $ 26,551 | $ 29,527 | $ 20,505 |
| OPF-TEB | Midsize | 157 | $ 24,634 | $ 39,017 | $ 26,339 |
| PDK-HOU | Midsize | 107 | $ 18,921 | $ 32,463 | $ 18,546 |
| ASE-MSY | Midsize | 163 | $ 28,009 | $ 41,599 | $ 27,274 |
| OPF-TEB | Super Mid | 145 | $ 32,477 | $ 40,408 | $ 31,704 |
| OKC-PIT | Super Mid | 120 | $ 30,760 | $ 54,098 | $ 26,655 |
| BFI-PSP | Super Mid | 133 | $ 37,039 | $ 45,792 | $ 29,280 |
| OPF-TEB | Large | 151 | $ 44,264 | $ 61,219 | $ 41,489 |
| ASE-MSY | Large | 132 | $ 39,107 | $ 72,991 | $ 36,653 |
| BFI-PSP | Large | 115 | $ 42,290 | $ 67,916 | $ 32,326 |
| Avg Q3 | $ 29,794 | $ 45,623 | $ 27,738 | ||
| Avg Q2 | $ 24,367 | $ 41,464 | $ 25,744 |
For the 12 private jet charter scenarios we track, the average flight price for fixed-rate jet cards with guaranteed availability increased from $25,744 at the end of the second quarter to $27,738.
At the same time, the lowest average price for bookable on-demand charter quotes increased from $24,367 to $29,794.
On the high side, the on-demand quotes increased from $41,464 to $45,623.
Some good news for jet card programs is the average number of Peak/Blackout Days held steady at 53.7, up only eight-tenths of a percent from Q2, although still more than double the pre-Covid average of 22.8 days.
The lead time for non-peak booking dropped slightly from 62.9 hours to 62 hours, a 1.5% drop. However, that’s still higher than the 23.2 hours average we tracked in Dec. 2019.
While the airline delays maybe still driving flyers, what’s clear is finding a singular solution for private flying is become more difficult, and the ability to find lower pricing is based largely on where you are flying and how flexible you are.
In the meantime, at least light jets and midsize jets saw pricing stabilize in Q3.
