December 19, 2024
Are you ready for some football? What about fast cars? NFL games – and F1 races – are boosting private jet flight activity.
Worldwide private jet flight activity (75,421 departures) in Week 43 was 4% up year over year, even though it was 1% down sequentially.
The 295,912 segments over the trailing four weeks were flat with 2023.
“Business jet fleets saw a boost in demand in the second half of October, notably in the U.S. and California. The NFL Games have been a draw, as have the GPs in Mexico and Texas. U.S. presidential campaigning may also have spurred activity. In contrast to a further slide in activity in the Middle East, the European market was above water,” says WingX Managing Director Richard Koe.
U.S. private jet flights (52,856) were up 6% compared to last year, and the 209,183 departures in the last four weeks put the world’s biggest market for private aviation 2% up compared to 2023.
California (5,241 segments) was up 15% year-over-year and 6% week-to-week.
Texas (5,730 segments) was down 2% sequentially but 11% up year-over-year.
Europe (9,813 segments) increased by 1% compared to last year.
Over the past four weeks, Africa (-25%) and the Middle East (-13%) have seen double-digit year-over-year declines.
| Market | Week 43 | % Change vs. prior week | % Change vs. W43 2023 | 52-week high | Week | 52-week low | Week | Last 4 Weeks (Flights) | %Change vs YOY |
| Global | 75,421 | -1% | 4% | 76,524 | W26 2024 | 58,018 | W52 2023 | 295,912 | 0% |
| North America | 55,471 | -1% | 6% | 60,279 | W46 2023 | 40,662 | W27 2024 | 215,632 | 1% |
| USA | 53,856 | -1% | 6% | 55,178 | W46 2023 | 37,852 | W27 2024 | 209,183 | 2% |
| Florida | 6,351 | -2% | -2% | 8,740 | W39 2024 | 4,042 | W27 2024 | 22,923 | -5% |
| California | 5,214 | 6% | 15% | 5,658 | W46 2023 | 3,472 | W27 2024 | 19,473 | 4% |
| Texas | 5,730 | -2% | 11% | 6,036 | W46 2023 | 3,554 | W27 2024 | 21,879 | 4% |
| Europe | 9,813 | -7% | 1% | 16,050 | W26 2024 | 6,446 | W52 2023 | 42,465 | -1% |
| UK | 1,342 | -16% | -2% | 2,105 | W28 2024 | 876 | W52 2023 | 6,185 | -4% |
| Germany | 1,227 | -2% | 1% | 1,736 | W25 2024 | 550 | W52 2023 | 4,965 | -4% |
| France | 1,374 | -16% | -3% | 2,638 | W30 2024 | 918 | W52 2023 | 6,347 | -4% |
| Switzerland | 607 | -10% | 2% | 1,030 | W3 2024 | 539 | W44 2023 | 2709 | 1% |
| Italy | 1,068 | -9% | 3% | 2,167 | W29 2024 | 483 | W52 2023 | 4,963 | 3% |
| Middle East | 1,525 | 16% | -10% | 1,693 | W43 2023 | 1,038 | W14 2024 | 5,472 | -13% |
| Africa | 763 | 6% | -15% | 991 | W50 2023 | 612 | W34 2024 | 2,784 | -25% |
| Asia | 2,229 | -6% | 3% | 2,483 | W3 2024 | 1,794 | W52 2023 | 8,722 | 0% |
| South America | 1,858 | -5% | -13% | 2,212 | W12 2024 | 1,649 | W07 2024 | 7,544 | -9% |
Source: WingX for Private Jet Card Comparisons. Includes Jets and VIP Airliners.
Charter and fractional operators (38,385 departures) were down 3% sequentially and 6% up year-over-year for the week that ended Oct. 27, 2024.
The U.S. charter and fractional segments (28,795) dipped 2% sequentially but were up 7% year over year.
European operators (6,845) reverse the numbers, down 7% sequentially but up 2% year-over-year.
| Market (Part 91K & Part135) | Week 43 | % Change vs. prior wk | % Change vs. W43 2023 | 52-week high | Week | 52-week low | Week | Last 4 Weeks (Flights) | %Change vs YOY |
| Global | 38,385 | -3% | 6% | 41,117 | W29 2024 | 29,868 | W2 2024 | 152,564 | 2% |
| North America | 29,393 | -3% | 7% | 30,954 | W46 2023 | 22,728 | W02 2024 | 115,018 | 3% |
| USA | 28,795 | -2% | 7% | 29,522 | W42 2024 | 21,525 | W02 2024 | 112,539 | 3% |
| Florida | 3,683 | -5% | -2% | 5,792 | W52 2023 | 1,973 | W35 2023 | 13,460 | -4% |
| California | 3,378 | 5% | 18% | 3,480 | W46 2023 | 2,398 | W27 2024 | 12,555 | 8% |
| Texas | 2,585 | -6% | 14% | 2,585 | W43 2024 | 1,630 | W3 2024 | 9,932 | 6% |
| Europe | 6,845 | -7% | 2% | 12,807 | W29 2024 | 5,313 | W52 2023 | 29,911 | -1% |
| UK | 964 | -16% | -1% | 1,578 | W28 2024 | 731 | W2 2024 | 4,430 | -5% |
| Germany | 806 | -6% | -3% | 1,211 | W25 2024 | 432 | W52 2023 | 3,375 | -6% |
| France | 961 | -13% | -4% | 1,943 | W48 2023 | 716 | W52 2023 | 4,412 | -6% |
| Switzerland | 442 | -13% | 1% | 923 | W7 2024 | 411 | W47 2023 | 1,992 | 1% |
| Italy | 798 | -8% | 4% | 1,801 | W29 2024 | 422 | W52 2023 | 3,729 | 4% |
| Middle East | 818 | 23% | -8% | 1,057 | W35 2023 | 567 | W13 2024 | 2,956 | -7% |
| Africa | 257 | -3% | -3% | 304 | W51 2023 | 171 | W34 2024 | 1,026 | -5% |
| Asia | 369 | 9% | 21% | 769 | W43 2023 | 170 | W25 2024 | 1,227 | 3% |
| South America | 63 | 34% | 66% | 91 | W1 2024 | 16 | W23 2024 | 167 | 9% |
Source: WingX for Private Jet Card Comparisons. Includes Jets and VIP Airliners.
Smaller markets, which the industry is always looking towards for future growth, continued their Comme ci, comme ça performance.
The Middle East was down 7% over the trailing four weeks, but with less than 750 flights per week on average, by departures, it’s about one-quarter of what Florida sees in a week.
However, as Koe says, the industry still has the U.S. football season ahead of it.
Find the perfect solution for your private aviation needs
Save Time. Buy Confidently.
Receive an apples-to-apples comparison of programs that meet your needs from more than 500 jet card and fractional options covering 65 points of differentiation and over 40,000 data points.
