September 4, 2024
NetJets and Flexjet led the way as 12 of the 14 largest private jet operators posted flight hours gains in the first six months of 2024.
Twelve of the 14 largest charter and fractional private jet operators posted gains in flight hours during the first half of 2024, according to Argus TraqPak.
That was counter to the next 11, of which seven saw decreases.
Of the 16 operators in the top 25 that showed increases, 14 offer jet cards or fractional ownership programs.
Overall, North America’s top 25 charter and fractional operators posted a 5.5% increase in flight hours.
READ: Fractionals post 12.4% H1 gain as overall private jet market sags
However, much of that was driven by NetJets, Inc., and Flexjet, Inc.
NetJets’ 28,926 increase in flight hours (from 301,473 hours to 330,399 hours), which includes Executive Jet Management, represented 8.8% growth.
The net growth would have ranked it the 6th-largest flight provider behind the 5th-ranked FlyExclusive.
Flexjet’s gain of 18,448 flight hours in the first six months year-over-year would have been good for the 8th slot, behind 7th-ranked PlaneSense.
| Rank | Operator | 2024 Hours | 2023 Hours | % Change | Hours Change |
| 1 | NetJets | 330,399 | 301,473 | 8.8% | 28,926 |
| 2 | Flexjet | 117,803 | 99,355 | 15.7% | 18,448 |
| 3 | VistaJet | 69,529 | 62,382 | 10.3% | 7,147 |
| 4 | Wheels Up | 50,702 | 70,253 | -38.6% | -19,551 |
| 5 | FlyExclusive | 32,313 | 27,740 | 14.2% | 4,573 |
| 6 | Solairus Aviation | 26,609 | 26,265 | 1.3% | 344 |
| 7 | PlaneSense | 24,130 | 22,326 | 7.5% | 1,804 |
| 8 | Jet Linx | 16,310 | 15,773 | 3.3% | 537 |
| 9 | Air Sprint | 14,424 | 14,027 | 2.8% | 397 |
| 10 | Airshare | 13,835 | 11,139 | 19.5% | 2,696 |
| 11 | Nicholas Air | 10,453 | 9,824 | 6.0% | 629 |
| 12 | Jet Aviation | 8,462 | 9,313 | -10.1% | -851 |
| 13 | Northern Jet Management | 7,144 | 6,230 | 12.8% | 914 |
| 14 | Thrive | 6,982 | 5,319 | 23.8% | 1,663 |
| 15 | Aero Air | 6,698 | 7,785 | -16.2% | -1,087 |
| 16 | Clay Lacy Aviation | 6,562 | 8,195 | -24.9% | -1,633 |
| 17 | Volato | 6,390 | 5,683 | 11.1% | 707 |
| 18 | Fly Alliance | 5,773 | 6,424 | -11.3% | -651 |
| 19 | Great Western Air | 5,744 | 5,585 | 2.8% | 159 |
| 20 | Baker Aviation | 5,498 | 3,071 | 44.1% | 2,427 |
| 21 | Chartright Air | 5,468 | 6,586 | -20.4% | -1,118 |
| 22 | ATI Jet (Jetvia) | 5,417 | 4,534 | 16.3% | 883 |
| 23 | STA | 4,758 | 6,252 | -31.4% | -1,494 |
| 24 | SkyService Business Aviation | 4,662 | 6,079 | -30.4% | -1,417 |
| 25 | Worldwide Jet Charter | 4,531 | 5,139 | -13.4% | -608 |
| Top 25 | 790,596 | 746,752 | 5.5% | 43,844 |
Source: Argus TraqPak
Third-place VistaJet saw North American flight hours increase by 10.3%.
Downsizing Wheels Up, which sold its aircraft management arm to Airshare last year and has been trimming its fleet, remained solidly in fourth place despite a 38.6% drop, the largest in the top 25.
Regarding the biggest winners on a percentage basis, 20th-ranked Baker Aviation posted a 44.1% increase in flight hours.
Thrive Aviation was second with a 23.8% increase, followed by Airshare (+19.5%), ATI Jet (+16.3%), Flexjet (+15.7%), FlyExclusive (+14.2%), Northern Jet (+12.8%), Volato (+11.1%), VistaJet (+10.8%).
READ: 2023’s 30 Biggest Charter/Fractional Private Jet Companies Ranked
We use this analysis to combine operators under their corporate parents, which is becoming more important with the industry’s M&A activity.
As noted, that means adding Part 135 operator Executive Jet Management, a NetJets Inc. company, and NetJets U.S. and NetJets Europe’s flights to/from the U.S.
It also means adding VistaJet, Jet Edge, Air Hamburg, Red Wing Aviation, Talon Air, and XOJet, which fly under Vista Global.
Aircraft arrival and departure information is included on all IFR flights in the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii), Canada, and the Caribbean.
Lastly, it’s essential to understand the tracking limits for aircraft flying under Part 135, which you can read more about here.
What do we miss?
This data is for operators and doesn’t count off-fleet brokerage flight activity.
For example, in addition to its operator Flexjet, Flexjet, Inc. owns jet card broker Sentient Jet and on-demand broker FXAir in the U.S.
Likewise, Wheels Up, its Air Partner brokers, and Vista’s brokers, XO and Apollo Jets, sell many charter and jet card flights on third-party operators.
In other words, this list reflects flight hours on fleets owned by the corporate parent, not additional brokered flights.
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