Thanksgiving private jet flights were 7.6% off 2019 pre-COVID levels compared to 60% for the airlines, and there were big changes in when and where people were flying
The largest market for private jets, Florida, had a 13% increase, with Palm Beach flights increasing 87%
More private jet travelers flew the Saturday and Sunday before Thanksgiving
Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, St. Maarten, Bermuda, Costa Rica, and Jamaica saw increases in U.S. arrivals
While private jets remain the shining star of the gutted travel industry, Thanksgiving flights may have fallen short of expectations.
According to WingX, the extended Thanksgiving period, from Friday before the holiday through Monday after, saw 56,005 U.S. private jet departures, 7.6% below 2019 levels. Despite COVID-19, during the July 4th holiday, private flights increased by 5% year-over-year.
Still, by comparison, the recovery gap between private aviation and the airlines remains wide. The number of airline passengers passing through TSA checkpoints for that same period dropped by 60% to 10.5 million from 26.1 million.