The average hourly jet card rate increased to $11,426 as daily minimums surged 11.6% to 96.1 minutes with midsize jets up 14.4%.
Guaranteed jet cards became more expensive and more restrictive in the first quarter of 2026.
While jet card hourly rates edged up 1.6% quarter-to-quarter at the end of the first quarter of 2026, daily minimums increased by 11.6%, indicating jet card providers are increasingly concerned about the profitability of short flights.
Daily minimums were up 19.0% year-over-year.
The daily minimum is the minimum amount of flight time charged, even if your flight takes less time.
For example, if your flight was 45 minutes and the daily minimum was 90 minutes, you would be charged for 90 minutes of flight time.
Midsize and light jets saw the largest increase.
Callout, the time in advance of your flight you need to book to secure your guaranteed rate has also increased.
It was up 7.0% quarter-to-quarter.
North American jet card rates overall averaged $11,802 per hour at the end of Q1 2026.
Without turboprops, the average hourly rate for jet cards was $11,426.
Included are jet cards with guaranteed availability and rates.
Hourly pricing includes base rate, fuel surcharges, and 7.5% Federal Excise Tax.
The Private Jet Card Comparisons database comprises over 80 providers and more than 1,000 options.
There were 115 updates to the Private Jet Card Comparisons database during the quarter.
That compares to 45 in Q4 of 2025, 41 in Q3, and 33 updates in Q2.
The average hourly jet card rate by aircraft category at the end of Q1 2026, compared to Q4 of 2025, Q1 2025, and Q4 2019, was:
The hourly rates are based on published rates and do not account for the constant flow of jet card deals.
The deals are generally valued in the mid-single digits in terms of added value.
| HOURLY RATES | 2019 Q4 | 2020 Q4 | 2021 Q4 | 2022 Q4 | 2023 Q4 | 2024 Q1 | 2024 Q4 | 2025 Q1 | 2025 Q4 | 2026 Q1 |
| Turboprop | 4,762 | 4,454 | 5,982 | 7,348 | 6,269 | 6,263 | 6,647 | 6,568 | 6,625 | 6,729 |
| Very Light | 5,653 | 5,102 | 6,724 | 8,379 | 7,298 | 7,454 | 7,742 | 7,689 | 7,604 | 7,852 |
| Light | 6,023 | 5,600 | 6,978 | 8,462 | 7,918 | 7,918 | 8,079 | 8,305 | 8,320 | 8,563 |
| Midsize | 7,531 | 6,961 | 7,985 | 9,806 | 9,168 | 9,169 | 9,526 | 9,817 | 9,577 | 9,639 |
| Super Midsize | 10,042 | 9,190 | 10,570 | 12,675 | 11,793 | 11,878 | 12,333 | 12,510 | 12,317 | 12,444 |
| Large | 13,033 | 12,109 | 13,229 | 16,108 | 15,339 | 15,250 | 15,209 | 15,197 | 15,264 | 15,612 |
| Ultra-Long-Haul | 16,834 | 15,316 | 17,339 | 20,646 | 18,753 | 18,815 | 18,951 | 19,152 | 19,208 | 19,301 |
| Overall | 8,860 | 8,405 | 9,706 | 11,748 | 10,754 | 10,862 | 11,052 | 11,147 | 11,244 | 11,426 |
| Without Turboprops | 9,193 | 8,631 | 9,850 | 11,955 | 11,030 | 11,143 | 11,377 | 11,519 | 11,578 | 11,802 |
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons
Overall, jet card hourly rates were up 1.6% sequentially from the fourth quarter of 2025.
Year-over-year jet card rates inceased 2.5%.
Overall, jet card rates are 29.0% higher than Q4 2019 pre-COVID.
| HOURLY RATES | Change from Q4 2025 | Change from Q1 2025 | Change from Q4 2024 | Change from Q1 2024 | Change from Q4 2023 | Change from Q4 2022 | Change from Q4 2021 | Change from Q4 2020 | Change from Q4 2019 |
| Turboprop | 1.6% | 2.4% | 1.2% | 7.4% | 7.3% | -8.4% | 12.5% | 51.1% | 41.3% |
| Very Light | 3.3% | 2.1% | 1.4% | 5.3% | 7.6% | -6.3% | 16.8% | 53.9% | 38.9% |
| Light | 2.9% | 3.1% | 6.0% | 8.1% | 8.1% | 1.2% | 22.7% | 52.9% | 42.2% |
| Midsize | 0.6% | -1.8% | 1.2% | 5.1% | 5.1% | -1.7% | 20.7% | 38.5% | 28.0% |
| Super Midsize | 1.0% | -0.5% | 0.9% | 4.8% | 5.5% | -1.8% | 17.7% | 35.4% | 23.9% |
| Large | 2.3% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 2.4% | 1.8% | -3.1% | 18.0% | 28.9% | 19.8% |
| Ultra-Long-Haul | 0.5% | 0.8% | 1.8% | 2.6% | 2.9% | -6.5% | 11.3% | 26.0% | 14.7% |
| Overall | 1.6% | 2.5% | 3.4% | 5.2% | 6.3% | -2.7% | 17.7% | 35.9% | 29.0% |
| Without Turboprops | 1.9% | 2.5% | 3.7% | 5.9% | 7.0% | -1.3% | 19.8% | 36.7% | 28.4% |
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons
Very Light Jets (+3.3%) and Light Jets (+2.9%) saw the biggest quarter-to-quarter percentage increases.
Light Jets (+3.1%) and Large Cabin Jets (+2.7%) saw their largest year-over-year percentage increases in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025.
Daily Minimums increased quarter-to-quarter from 86 to 96 minutes.
Year-over-year daily minimums increased from 81 minutes to 96 minutes.
Before COVID in 2019, the overall average daily minimum was 86 minutes.
| DAILY MINIMUMS (minutes) | 2019 Q4 | 2020 Q4 | 2021 Q4 | 2022 Q4 | 2023 Q4 | 2024 Q1 | 2024 Q4 | 2025 Q1 | 2025 Q4 | 2026 Q1 |
| Light | 78 | 80 | 88 | 76 | 72 | 73 | 69 | 68 | 72 | 80 |
| Midsize | 84 | 84 | 96 | 83 | 80 | 79 | 77 | 76 | 81 | 93 |
| Super Midsize | 96 | 95 | 112 | 94 | 97 | 95 | 93 | 84 | 92 | 101 |
| Large | 101 | 99 | 126 | 110 | 121 | 121 | 122 | 107 | 109 | 117 |
| Overall | 86 | 85 | 103 | 95 | 89 | 90 | 87 | 81 | 86 | 96 |
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons
Midsize jets saw an average daily minimum increase from 81 to 93 minutes sequentially.
Year-over-year midsize jet daily minimums increased from 76 to 93 minutes at the end of Q1 2026.
Light jet daily minimums increase from 72 to 80 minutes quarter-to-quarter.
Year-over-year light jet daily minimums increased from 68 to 80 minutes.
| DAILY MINIMUMS (minutes) | Change from Q4 2025 | Change from Q1 2025 | Change from Q4 2024 | Change from Q1 2024 | Change from Q4 2023 | Change from Q4 2022 | Change from Q4 2021 | Change from Q4 2020 | Change from Q4 2019 |
| Light | 11.0% | 18.1% | 16.4% | 9.6% | 11.2% | 5.4% | -9.1% | 0.5% | 2.3% |
| Midsize | 14.4% | 21.6% | 20.0% | 17.4% | 16.4% | 11.8% | -3.2% | 10.3% | 10.8% |
| Super Midsize | 8.9% | 19.1% | 8.3% | 5.8% | 4.3% | 6.9% | -9.8% | 5.6% | 5.1% |
| Large | 7.2% | 9.9% | -3.8% | -3.3% | -3.4% | 6.4% | -6.7% | 18.9% | 15.6% |
| Overall | 11.6% | 19.0% | 10.9% | 7.2% | 7.5% | 1.5% | -6.9% | 12.6% | 11.5% |
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons
Overall daily minimums in creased 11.6% sequentially and 19.0% year-over-year.
Midsize jets saw daily minimums increase 21.6% year-over-year in Q1 2026.
Super Midsize jets were up 19.1% year-over-year.
Light jets saw an 18.1% year-over-year increase in daily minimums.
The number of peak days also reversed their post-COVID downward trend.
The average number of peak days at the end of Q1 2026 stood at 36.3 days.
That was up from 35.6 days sequentially.
Year-over-year peak days increased from 35.4 dates to 36.3 in 2026.
| PEAK DAYS (hours) | 2019 Q4 | 2020 Q4 | 2021 Q4 | 2022 Q4 | 2023 Q4 | 2024 Q1 | 2024 Q4 | 2025 Q1 | 2025 Q4 | 2026 Q1 |
| Overall | 22.8 | 24.4 | 39.3 | 55.7 | 47.4 | 47.5 | 44.6 | 35.4 | 35.6 | 36.3 |
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons
Peak days increased 1.9% sequentially.
The number of peak dates was up 2.5% year over year compared to Q1 2025.
| PEAK DAYS (hours) | Change from Q4 2025 | Change from Q2 2025 | Change from Q4 2024 | Change from Q1 2024 | Change from Q4 2023 | Change from Q4 2022 | Change from Q4 2021 | Change from Q4 2020 | Change from Q4 2019 |
| Overall | 1.9% | 2.5% | -18.6% | -23.6% | -23.5% | -34.8% | -7.7% | 48.7% | 59.1% |
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons
Compared to pre-COVID, peak days are currently 59.1% higher.
Back in Q4 2019, the average program had just 22.8 peak days.
The lead time to book guaranteed rates also increased.
The non-peak callout increased from 62.5 hours to 66.9 hours for non-peak bookings.
Year-over-year callout increased from 65.7 hours to 66.9 hours.
| CALL OUTS (hours) | 2019 Q4 | 2020 Q4 | 2021 Q4 | 2022 Q4 | 2023 Q4 | 2024 Q1 | 2024 Q4 | 2025 Q1 | 2025 Q4 | 2026 Q1 |
| Overall | 23.2 | 29.0 | 55.9 | 64.7 | 69.3 | 69.2 | 66.2 | 65.7 | 62.5 | 66.9 |
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons
Pre-COVID, the average callout was 23.2 hours.
| CALL OUTS (hours) | Change from Q4 2025 | Change from Q1 2025 | Change from Q4 2024 | Change from Q1 2024 | Change from Q4 2023 | Change from Q4 2022 | Change from Q4 2021 | Change from Q4 2020 | Change from Q4 2019 |
| Overall | 7.0% | 1.8% | 1.0% | -3.4% | -3.5% | 3.4% | 19.6% | 130.6% | 188.3% |
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons
The average callout was 7.0% longer at the end of Q1 2026 compared to the end of 2025.
Year-over-year, it increased 1.8%.
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