Challenges involve aircraft availability, airport infrastructure, maintenance capacity, and rising operating costs.
A new report from McKinsey & Company finds that business aviation continues to grow despite increasing challenges involving aircraft availability, airport infrastructure, maintenance capacity, and rising operating costs.
The consulting firm’s inaugural State of Business Aviation in 2026 report also forecasts continued consolidation, growing demand for fractional ownership, and a shift toward leisure destinations.
McKinsey says the industry has entered a new phase in which securing aircraft is only part of the challenge.
Operators must also ensure they have pilots, maintenance support, hangar space, and airport access to accommodate growing demand.
While McKinsey said private aviation enables users to “fly where you want, when you want, with whom you want,” the authors continued, “Delivering on that promise is increasingly difficult.”
They wrote, “Demand for private aircraft is outstripping supply, while growing numbers of flights and passengers are putting pressure on infrastructure, airspace, and qualified personnel such as engineers and pilots.”
The report draws on industry data and executive interviews.
According to McKinsey, business aviation has maintained much of the growth it experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Global private aviation flight hours returned to pre-pandemic levels by March 2021, nearly three years before commercial airlines fully recovered, citing WingX data.
Business aviation departures have increased by an average of 4.9% annually since 2019, reaching a record 3.9 million in 2025.
Total flight hours increased from 4.7 million in 2019 to 6.4 million last year, a 37% gain.
North America accounted for 70% of global flight hours in 2025, although Latin America and Asia-Pacific registered faster percentage growth.
McKinsey attributes the industry’s expansion partly to increasing wealth.
The global population of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, defined as those with at least $30 million, increased by 5.6% annually between 2019 and 2025.
McKinsey expects North America’s share of that population to increase from 37% to 43% by 2031.
The report also cites the coming transfer of wealth between generations as another potential source of demand.
NetJets Aviation President Patrick Gallagher told McKinsey, “The transfer of wealth we have been hearing about for years suggests that around $80 trillion to $ 100 trillion will be transferred over the next 20 years.”
Fractional ownership has emerged as the fastest-growing business aviation operating model.
Per WingX, the report shows that fractional fleets increased from 990 aircraft in 2019 to 1,510 in 2025, representing annual growth of 7.3%.
Fractional operators increased their share of total business jet flight hours from 14% to 20% during that period.
NetJets and Flexjet accounted for 92% of fractional flight hours excluding turboprops.
Meanwhile, charter operators maintained a relatively stable market share, declining slightly from 19% to 18%.
Third-party aircraft management held a 25% share, while corporate and private flight departments fell from 36% to 30%.
The report says higher ownership costs and growing demand for flexibility are encouraging customers to consider fractional ownership, jet cards, and charter instead of buying entire aircraft.
However, the report doesn’t discuss how aircraft owners, fractional owners, and a broad swath of consumers use multiple solutions, sometimes called supplemental lift.
Another significant change involves where private aviation customers fly.
McKinsey found that private jet departures at U.S. leisure airports grew by 5.4% annually between 2019 and 2025, compared with 2.1% at traditional business destinations.
Leisure airports accounted for 326,000 of the 417,000 additional U.S. departures during that period.
Departures increased 92% at Witham Field in Stuart, Florida; 81% at Tampa International; 74% at Miami-Opa Locka Executive; 73% at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International; and 60% at Naples Airport.
Meanwhile, several traditional business aviation airports, including Chicago Midway, Oakland, and Van Nuys, experienced declines.
Gallagher told McKinsey that destinations including Naples, Scottsdale, Jackson Hole, and Bozeman are increasingly busy year-round as second-home owners travel more frequently.
Despite growing demand, manufacturers delivered just 842 business jets in 2025, compared with the industry’s record of 1,290 in 2008.
McKinsey notes that the global fleet has expanded primarily because operators are retiring fewer older aircraft.
Annual retirements declined from approximately 300 in 2019 to 110 in 2025.
That trend has increased demand for maintenance while raising concerns about future aircraft availability.
The report warns that older aircraft returning to charter service after the pandemic could face retirement as expensive maintenance events approach.
Aircraft buyers have also shifted toward the smallest and largest jets.
Between 2019 and 2025, very light jet fleets grew 6.7% annually, while long-range fleets expanded 5.1%.
McKinsey also found that 65% of ultra-long-range jet flights departing the United States covered less than 1,000 nautical miles.
The findings suggest buyers increasingly prioritize cabin comfort and space over maximum range.
The McKinsey authors warn infrastructure limitations, maintenance bottlenecks, and aircraft shortages remain major challenges.
The three largest operator groups—NetJets, Flexjet, and VistaJet—accounted for about 20% of global business jet flight hours in 2025, up from 15% in 2019.
The report expects further consolidation as operators seek economies of scale.
It also identifies artificial intelligence, improved scheduling, predictive maintenance, and reduced empty-leg flying as opportunities to improve efficiency.
However, McKinsey cautions that operators must plan years in advance to secure aircraft, crews, maintenance capacity, and airport infrastructure.
Its central forecast is that demand will remain strong, but operators that secure scarce resources and manage their fleets efficiently will gain an increasingly important competitive advantage.
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