As demand falls, Jet Card rates dip 5.2% in Q1 2023

As demand drops, the average hourly rate for jet cards fell to $11,165 per hour, including fuel surcharges and tax.

By Doug Gollan, April 3, 2023

Here’s some good news for jet card flyers. Jet card pricing is finally coming down, dropping 5.2% from December 2022.

It marks the first time hourly rates have decreased since the second half of 2020. That’s when the CARES Act removed the 7.5% Federal Excise Tax.

The drop comes as fractional and flight hours continue declining from last year’s records, according to WingX and Argus.

Rates for jets were only down 4.3% as turboprop hourly rates fell 12.7%.

The turboprop rates were partially pulled down by Wheels Up’s new King Air Connect program, which reduced capped hourly rates by 15-17% but is limited to east of the Mississippi.

READ: You’re Fired: Are You An Unprofitable Jet Card Customer

The average Fixed/Capped Rate, Guaranteed Availability Jet Card pricing also beat On-Demand Charter rates (Dynamic Pricing) in eight of the 12 flight scenarios week track.

Other good news: The number of Peak Days also continued their downward trend.

They dropped 3.6% from Q4 2022 to 53.7.

Daily Minimums also dropped from December 2022, down 6.0% to an average of 89 minutes.

Average Non-Peak Day Advance Reservation Lead Time went the wrong way.

It increased by 2.6% from December to 66.4 hours.

All details are outlined in the tables below.

Private Jet Charter Pricing – March 2023 (Fixed hourly rates)

Q1 2023 Jet Card hourly rates, including hourly cost, fuel surcharge, supplemental charges, and the 7.5% Federal Excise Tax.

Rates are based on providers with fixed or capped hourly rates and guaranteed availability.

  • Turboprops averaged $6,518 per hour, down 12.7% from Q4 2022 and up 8.2% from Dec. 2021
  • Very Light Jets averaged $7,702 per hour, down 8.8% from Q4 2022 and up 12.7% from Dec. 2021
  • Light Jets averaged $8,047 per hour, down 5.2% from Q4 2022 and up 13.3% from Dec. 2021
  • Midsize Jets averaged $9,419 per hour, down 4.1% from Q4 2022 and up 15.2% from Dec. 2021
  • Super Midsize Jets averaged $12,266 per hour, down 3.3% from Q4 2022 and up 13.8% from Dec. 2021
  • Large Cabin Jets averaged $15,900 per hour, down 1.3% from Q4 2022 and up 16.8% from Dec. 2021
  • Ultra-Long-Haul Jets averaged $19,021 per hour, down 8.5% from Q4 2022 and up 8.8% from Dec. 2021

Overall, the average hourly rate for fixed/capped rate jet card programs is now $11,748. Taking out turboprops, the jet rate is $11,955 per hour.

Jet Card Pricing – Hourly Rates – March 2023

 Cabin Size March
2023
Change vs.
Dec. 2022
Change vs.
Dec. 2021
Change vs.
Dec. 2020
Turboprop  $        6,518 -12.7% 8.2% 31.7%
Very Light  $        7,702 -8.8% 12.7% 33.8%
Light  $        8,047 -5.2% 13.3% 30.4%
Midsize  $        9,419 -4.1% 15.2% 26.1%
Super Midsize  $      12,266 -3.3% 13.8% 25.1%
Large  $      15,900 -1.3% 16.8% 23.8%
Ultra-Long-Haul  $      19,021 -8.5% 8.8% 19.5%
Overall  $      11,165 -5.2% 13.1% 24.7%
Without Turboprops  $      11,466 -4.3% 14.1% 24.7%
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons. Hourly rates include Fuel Surcharge and 7.5% FET and are for occupied hours only, so there are no additional repositioning charges.

In terms of comparing Jet Cards that have fixed/capped hourly rates with guaranteed availability with on-demand charter flights priced by market variables, jet cards gained an edge.

While On-Demand Charter offered lower-than-average jet card prices in 7 of 12 scenarios in December, this time around, the jet cards were lower in 8 of 12 instances.

As usual, on-demand pricing works best in high-density routes like Miami-New York.

Q1 2023: Jet Card vs. On-Demand Private Jet Charter Pricing

Route  Type Flight
Minutes
On-Demand
Charter-Low
 On-Demand
Charter-High
Jet Card
Average
 OPF-TEB  Light 157  $     16,807  $      28,044  $            22,666
 OKC-PIT  Light 133  $      24,980  $      27,430  $            19,447
 BFI-PSP  Light 141  $      23,758  $      24,730  $            20,520
 OPF-TEB  Midsize 157  $      27,535  $      31,694  $            26,530
 PDK-HOU  Midsize 107  $      22,102  $      28,854  $            18,681
 ASE-MSY  Midsize 163  $      33,485  $      35,955  $            27,472
 OPF-TEB  Super Mid 145  $      27,198  $      30,455  $            32,096
 OKC-PIT  Super Mid 120  $      29,781  $      46,264  $            26,985
 BFI-PSP  Super Mid 133  $      27,258  $      38,138  $            29,643
 OPF-TEB  Large 151  $      36,604  $      40,667  $            43,195
 ASE-MSY  Large 132  $      49,286  $      54,039  $            38,160
 BFI-PSP  Large 115  $      48,639  $      49,714  $            33,655
Q1 2023      $      30,619  $      36,332  $            28,254
Q4 2022      $      27,853  $      40,868  $            28,363
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons; Charter Broker confirmed pricing quotes one-way between April. 5 and April 30, 2023 Jet card pricing includes federal excise tax, fuel surcharges, taxi time, and other fees.

Between Opa Locka and Teterboro, two of the busiest private jet airports in the U.S., the lowest on-demand pricing beat fixed/capped rate jet card average one-way cost in all categories, except midsize jets.

The only other win for dynamic pricing was on super midsize jets between Boeing Field in Seattle and Palm Springs.

Comparing Peak Days, Callouts, Daily Minimums

Of course, with jet cards, the devil is in the details.

There was good news when it came to Peak Days.

Peak days typically include longer lead time to book, stricter cancelation terms, and different pricing, including surcharges, although it varies widely.

The average number of these high-demand dates dropped by 3.6% to 53.7 days. However, that’s still 57.5% higher than pre-Covid numbers in Q4 2019.

Peak Days

(in days) Dec. 2019 June 2022 Dec.
2022
March 2023 Change vs. Dec. 2022 Change vs. Dec. 2019
Average of Total 2023 Peak/High-Demand/Blackout Days 22.8 53.2  55.7  53.7 -3.6% 57.5%
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons

One area providers are not rushing to change is the lead time to book flights.

With operational and staffing issues still throwing monkey wrenches, Non-Peak Callouts increased slightly to 66.4 hours, up 2.6%.

That’s 65.1% higher than in December 2019.

Callouts are the minimum time to book and get guaranteed availability with contracted rates.

Callouts

In hours Dec. 2019 June 2022 Dec. 2022 March 2023 Change vs. Dec. 2022 Change vs. Dec. 2019
Average of PSA Non-Peak Day Advance Reservations Lead Time (in hours) 23.2 62.9           64.6           66.4 2.6% 65.1%
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons

However, the best news for flyers is that Daily Minimums continue to drop and are now just 3.4% higher than in December 2019 at an average of 89 minutes.

For light jet flyers, the daily minimum dropped by 7.9% from Q4 2022 to 70 minutes, putting them below pre-Covid numbers.

Daily Minimums

In Minutes Dec.
2019
June
2022
Dec.
2022
March
2023
Change vs. Dec. 2022 Change vs. Dec. 2019
Light Jets 78 104 76 70 -7.9% -11.2%
Midsize 84 105 83 79 -5.4% -6.3%
SuperMid 96 110 94 93 -1.0% -2.8%
Large 101 131 110 123 10.6% 17.7%
All 86 109 95 89 -6.0% 3.5%
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons

Since the Daily Minimum is what you pay even if you fly less on that day, it benefits short flyers.

As demand surged, light jet daily minimums spiked to 104 minutes in June 2022.

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