Increased prices are the number one reason jet card members say why they are considering changing programs. How do they compare?
Increased prices were the number one reason jet card members said they considered changing programs last summer.
With this year’s subscriber survey ready for later this month, we decided to compare jet card hourly price increases against inflation in other sectors.
We looked at jet card price increases across the seven categories we track.
It includes turboprops, very light jets, light jets, midsize jets, super-midsize jets, large cabin jets, and ultra-long-haul jets.
We also compared overall jet card hourly rates.
Our list included 20 items (see below), and the inflation news for private jet flyers is that it could be worse.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the cost for a medium order of french fries increased 168% from 2019 to 2024.
That’s a jump from $1.79 to $4.79.
A dozen eggs are 100% higher than five years ago – up to $2.70 from $1.35.
Turboprops, which saw the biggest price increase based on hourly rates with a 37% hike, only ranked seventh on our list.
READ: Q2 2024 Jet Card Pricing and Policy Report
Average turboprop hourly rates as of Q2 2024 had jumped from $4,762 in Q4 2019 to $6,533.
| Inflation Rank | Product | 2019 | 2024 | Change |
| 1 | French Fries – Medium | $ 1.79 | $ 4.79 | 168% |
| 2 | Eggs – Dozen | $ 1.35 | $ 2.70 | 100% |
| 3 | Median Home Sale – Nashville | $ 259,900.00 | $ 427,200.00 | 64% |
| 4 | Median Home Sale – San Diego | $ 562,000.00 | $ 878,333.00 | 56% |
| 5 | Median Home Sale – San Antonio | $ 213,939.00 | $ 303,966.00 | 42% |
| 6 | Median Rent – Las Vegas | $ 1,310.00 | $ 1,828.00 | 40% |
| 7 | Jet Card – Turboprop – Hourly | $ 4,762.00 | $ 6,532.85 | 37% |
| 8 | Median Rent – Sacramento | $ 1,732.00 | $ 2,314.00 | 34% |
| 9 | Jet Card – Light – Hourly | $ 6,023.00 | $ 7,992.73 | 33% |
| 9 | Jet Card – Very Light – Hourly | $ 5,653.00 | $ 7,496.05 | 33% |
| 11 | Milk – Half Gallon | $ 2.96 | $ 3.86 | 30% |
| 12 | Regular Gas – Gallon | $ 2.75 | $ 3.49 | 27% |
| 13 | Median Rent – New York City | $ 2,660.00 | $ 3,363.00 | 26% |
| 14 | Jet Card – Midsize – Hourly | $ 7,531.00 | $ 9,481.73 | 26% |
| 15 | Ice Cream – Half Gallon | $ 4.85 | $ 6.00 | 24% |
| 16 | Jet Card – Overall Hourly Price – Hourly | $ 8,860.00 | $ 10,954.00 | 24% |
| 17 | Jet Card – Super Midsize – Hourly | $ 10,042.00 | $ 12,306.50 | 23% |
| 18 | Jet Card – Large – Hourly | $ 13,033.00 | $ 15,251.82 | 17% |
| 19 | Jet Card – Ultra-Long-Haul – Hourly | $ 16,834.00 | $ 18,894.54 | 12% |
| 20 | Cheddar Cheese – Pound | $ 5.33 | $ 5.55 | 4% |
Sources: Private Jet Card Comparisons, CBS News, Dallas Morning News
The increase in the turboprops was still lower than the median home sales price increases in Nashville (+64% ), San Diego (+56%), and San Antonio (+42%).
The median home rental price in Las Vegas also outstripped increases in jet card hourly rates, up 40%.
Light and very light jet increases were up 33% since 2019, ranking ninth on our list, just behind the 34% jump in Sacramento home rental prices.
In fact, overall jet card hourly rates (+24%), super-midsize prices (+23%), large jet prices (+17%), and ultra-long-haul jet rates (+12%) ranked 16th through 19th based on percentage increase.
Even if the cost of flying privately isn’t keeping up with other products, here’s some bad news.
You’re paying even more when you step off the airplane.
Earlier this year, the luxury travel agency network Virtuoso said that hotel prices in July were 85% higher than in the same period in 2019.
Speaking during the annual Jefferies Business Aviation Summit last month, Alisdair Whyte, Editor of Corporate Jet Investor, noted that charter and jet card pricing had been flat in the decade following the 2008 financial crisis.
Whyte told the investors, “From 2009 to 2019, charter rates didn’t really rise.”
He added, “The first rule of business aviation is once you’ve discovered how good private aviation is, you keep flying privately until you can no longer afford it.”
He concluded, “Customers need to pay more.”
At least for now, jet card sellers are holding to published rates.
Our quarterly price tracker found a 0.8% increase from Q1 to Q2, following a 1% increase.
Still, that’s 6.8% lower than Q4 2022.
And for some flyers, they are seeing even bigger dips.
Decreasing daily minimums is impacting shorter flights costs.
For example, a 50-minute light jet flight that would have cost $10,690 in Q4 2022 would now cost $8,885, a savings of $1,805, or 16.9%.
In Q4 2019, that same flight would have cost $7,840.
That’s a mere 13.3% lower than today’s price.
Or, if you are looking for a really good deal, eat cheese.
CBS News reports the price for a pound of cheddar cheese is only 4% higher than 2019.
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