Half of the current private aviation users said they had started or re-started private flying due to Covid, and 100% of these new private flyers say they plan to continue after the pandemic. More than half (53%) said they would fly privately regularly even after the pandemic, a 29% increase from 41% who said they would continue private flights regularly in a January survey of subscribers.
"If the question is, will new users stick with private aviation even in a post-Covid world, the answer is a unanimous yes, with many (53%) saying they will now use private aviation regularly," said Doug Gollan, Founder, and Editor-in-Chief of buyer's guide Private Jet Card Comparisons.
The survey also revealed a strong pipeline of potential new private jet customers. Of the over 225 respondents, 90% are currently privately flyers, and 9% said they are now considering private aviation. Subscribers pay $250 to compare private aviation options by more than 65 variables so they can identify the best choices for their unique flying needs.
In terms of types of travel, 54% said they use private aviation for personal/vacation travel only, 43% use it for a combination of personal/vacation flights and business needs, and 3% said they use private flights exclusively for business.
New users are more likely to be using private aviation strictly for personal/vacation travel (64%), whereas 52% of pre-Covid private flyers said they use private aviation for a combination of personal/vacation and business travel, with 44% only using private aviation for personal/vacation trips.
Of current private aviation flyers, 81% use jet cards, 35% charter on a flight-by-flight basis, 11% ride on the private jets of friends, 7% own their private jets, 6% use by-the-seat or shared jet solutions, 5% hold fractional shares or leases, and 3% use company-owned aircraft from companies they don't own or control. Over 50% of respondents said they have more than one private aviation solution, including jet cards from multiple providers.
More than 8 in 10 (82%) said they had bought or renewed a jet card in the past 18 months, with 92% making a deposit and 8% using pay-as-you-go options. The average deposit was $237,267.
Of those who are new to private aviation since Covid and had purchased jet cards initially, 18% had already renewed after using their initial hours.
A significant number of respondents said avoiding the hassles of commercial airlines is a primary reason for continuing to fly privately. However, 19% said they had experienced service lapses on their private flights in recent months as private jet flying surges to record levels. Typical were delays, generally around two to three hours.
In terms of satisfaction with current providers, 77% rated their performance as excellent or very good, 8% said average, with 2% reporting below average/poor performance. Some 13% said it's too early to tell.
The survey was conducted via Survey Monkey from July 4-to-9 and had a margin of error +/- 4%.
