Summary
- Private jet users enjoy ultimate flexibility in departure times and locations.
- Various private jet options include ownership, aircraft management, membership programs, and jet cards.
- Wheels Up, Vista Global, Flexjet, and NetJets are the most popular private charter companies, with NetJets holding the largest market share.
Flying privately is typically seen as the most luxurious way to travel. These elite travelers do not need to conform to scheduled commercial flights and are granted the ultimate flexibility. Private travelers can easily choose when they want to depart from their local airport. Private jet users do not have to schedule their flights in advance, and they can depart whenever they feel it is necessary.
These privately flying travelers also have flexibility about where they fly from and to. As business jets are typically smaller than most commercial airliners, these jets can fly from shorter runways. Therefore, travelers can take off and depart at smaller airports that may not even have public terminals and instead just have private terminals and fixed base operators (FBOs). These smaller airports have shorter runways and may be located closer to the traveler’s intended destination and takeoff location. This gives travelers who fly privately the most flexibility when traveling.
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There are a range of ways to embark on such a journey.
Overall, there are many ways that travelers can fly privately. Many private jet operators own their aircraft and fly it themselves. Some of these operators lease their aircraft to an aircraft management company, which offers the aircraft for chartered flights. Newer options may include aircraft membership programs or jet cards, which provide access to a fleet or a wide range of aircraft options, depending on the company. Additional fees may be required to book certain aircraft.
Some of these aircraft options are accessible through popular charter companies or fractional ownership companies. Private jet access has increased rapidly after the COVID-19 pandemic prior to a slight decline in 2023, as access stabilized. However, several private charter companies found growth year-over-year. Let’s take a closer look at some of these unique charter companies that established themselves as the most popular private charter companies, as analyzed by Private Jet Card Comparisons.
Wheels Up
2023 flight hours: 127,685 hours
One of the most well-known private jet companies is Wheels Up. This company comes as the fourth most-flown charter company in 2023, holding a 2.4% share of the market. However, the company saw a decline year-over-year, as it was ranked as the third most-flown charter company in 2022. Year-over-year, Wheels Up dropped nearly 40,000 total hours, which was a 23.8% increase.
Photo: Wheels Up
Although Wheels Up has been a popular charter choice for private jet users, the company, unfortunately, has never been profitable. From 2020 through 2022, the company acquired several other charter companies, including Delta Private Jets. This led to Delta Air Lines being the largest shareholder of the company at the time. After the company began to struggle in the early 2020s, Delta also provided the company with over $500 million in funding, which kept Wheels Up from declaring bankruptcy. Since then, although the company has yet to become profitable, Wheels Up has improved year-over-year, suffering less of a loss this year.
Vista Global
2023 flight hours: 136,511 hours
The third most-flown charter company, per Private Jet Card Comparisons, is Vista Global. This company moved up a spot in 2023, passing Wheels Up, and it recorded over 136,000 flight hours as a company. However, the company still saw a year-over-year decrease from 2022. Vista Global dropped about 15,000 flight hours from 2022, which was a 9.7% decrease.
Photo: InsectWorld | Shutterstock
Vista Global was founded in 2004, although the charter section is privately held as part of the Vista Global Holding Group, which is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company operates only Bombardier aircraft, including:
- Bombardier Challenger 350
- Bombardier Challenger 605
- Bombardier Challenger 850
- Bombardier Global 5000
- Bombardier Global 6000
- Bombardier Global 7500
Flexjet Inc.
2023 flight hours: 204,836 hours
According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, Flexjet was the second most-flown charter company in 2023. Throughout the year, Flexjet recorded over 204,000 flight hours. It also saw some of the most growth on the list, recording an 11.5% change with an increase of 21,000 flight hours since 2022. This kept Flexjet in the second spot for most-flown charter companies year over year.
Photo: Flexjet
Flexjet was founded in 1995 as a division of Bombardier Aerospace. However, it was purchased by Directional Aviation in September 2014. Flexjet offers its private jet fleet in the form of fractional ownership, leasing, or utilizing a jet card. It has a fleet of nearly 200 aircraft, including:
- 75 Bombardier Challengers
- 42 Embraer Phenom 300s
- 13 Gulfstream G450s
- Ten Gulfstream G650 series
- Seven Bombardier Global Express
NetJets Inc.
2023 flight hours: 609,515
Yet again, NetJets is the most popular private jet charter choice. The Berkshire Hathaway-owned company recorded a staggering 610,000 total flight hours in 2023. This was still an 11,000 flight hour increase year-over-year, which resulted in just under a 2% increase. NetJets owns almost a 12% market share of the private jet operating market.
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock
The company was founded in May 1964 with a fleet of just ten Learjet 23 aircraft. Since then, it has acquired over 750 aircraft and was purchased by Berkshire Hathaway in the late 1990s.
Other charter companies that saw significant growth
Several charter companies found success in 2023, even as the private jet industry took a slight step back year-over-year. The company that saw the largest growth was Volato. It increased over 137% from 2022, increasing its total flight hours to 12,500 from the 5,200 flight hours it recorded in 2022. The largest HondaJet operator was previously unranked, and it is now ranked as the 16th most popular charter company.
Other newer charter companies that saw growth include Baker Aviation, with a 122% increase; VeriJet, with a 71% increase; and Northern Jet, with a 53% increase.
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