July 24, 2024
The FAA is warning New York City airport airline delays are expected to increase 45% this summer. History shows it will boost private jet demand.
Last year, 54% of private jet flyers said airport and airline delays were causing them to increase private flying. Last week, the FAA warned to expect more chaos this summer.
According to a report in USA Today, the staffing of controllers is 20% below where it should be nationally.
In the New York City region, staffing is only 54% of the target level.
Last summer, airlines canceled 45,000 flights.
Almost 25% of the remaining flights were delayed by more than 15 minutes.
Now the FAA is expecting delays in the New York region by 45%.
The FAA wants airlines to curtail flights at high-density airports to reduce delays, and airlines are expected to comply.
They have to file plans by the end of the month.
However, airlines, still facing labor shortages, have already been cutting.
Last month, American Airlines said it would cut 50,000 flights.
Smaller markets are most likely to lose service.
Data from WingX shows when airlines move out, private jets move in.
As I reported last December, in Ithaca, New York, after American Airlines stopped flying, private jets, excluding turboprops, piston aircraft, and helicopters, made up 40% of departures, up 3% from 2019, while airline scheduled operations were down 34%.
In Toledo, Ohio, private jet flights increased to 62% of arrivals, up 20% from the previous year, while scheduled operations dropped 12%.
At Iowa’s Dubuque Regional Airport, private jets’ share of arrivals increased to 83%. That was up 49% from before the pandemic. Compared to 2019, scheduled airline flights were down 51%.
The increased interest in private aviation could come as prices drop.
Hourly jet card rates dropped 5.2% in Q1 of 2023 from Q4 of 2022. It was their first decline since the middle of 2020, when the CARES Act removed the 7.5% Federal Excise Tax.
It also comes as demand for private aviation continues to slide from last year’s record levels.
