Among the myriad potential permanent “trends” as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is the shift to private jet travel. According to recent data from Vista Global—a private aviation group, which includes its VistaJet and XO brands—for the first half of 2021, there has been a 65 percent increase in global flight hours over 2020.
As for the group’s subscription products, the company reports they were at “all-time highs” during the first half of the year. VistaJet sold over 8,000 new annual subscription hours, an increase of 67 percent over 2020 figures and a 41 percent rise over 2019 levels. XO deposit members, in addition, were up 82 percent, with three times as many sales in the period compared with 2020. The group’s on-demand services also performed strongly during the period, with a year-on-year growth of 67 percent across all markets and a 55 percent increase over 2019.
Regionally, the Middle East saw an increase of 153 percent in flight hours, with North America and Europe registering a 76 percent and 41 percent increase, respectively.
Where are travelers going? Simply put: Europe. VistaJet saw a 184 percent increase in U.S.-to-Europe flights from July 2020 to July 2021. Compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels, VistaJet saw a 135 percent increase in the total number of flights from the U.S. to Europe for July. Specifically, France, Italy, Spain and Greece are the top arrival destinations from the U.S. for summer travel. The top departure cities in the U.S. for summer travel are New York, Los Angeles and Miami.
These numbers do not just represent more travel among existing members and frequent private aviation travelers. Pre-pandemic, only around 10 percent of people who could afford to fly private did; however, over the past year, 71 percent of VistaJet's new incoming requests are from passengers who have not regularly used business aviation solutions before, which confirms an abundance of new entry into the market.
Health and safety is one of the top reasons that explains the shift from commercial to private travel. According to Vista, the number of touchpoints significantly decreases when flying private, from 700 when flying commercial to 20 interactions with private travel. VistaJet expects the increased number of first-time private flyers to keep growing in 2021 and beyond as travelers continue to look for more safe and reliable flight solutions.
Source: Vista Global
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