US family offices focus more on using their business aircraft for philanthropic causes

A survey commissioned by Airbus Corporate Jets of U.S.-based family offices who own or lease business aircraft reveals that 87% are open to using them for charitable and humanitarian purposes. In terms of how they do this, 77% say they support local or national charities by providing them with some access to their aircraft, and 44% say they support the Corporate Angel Network, a U.S.-based 501 nonprofit organization that helps cancer patients access the best treatment by arranging free travel on corporate aircraft. Some also provide access to their aircraft during a crisis situation such as humanitarian relief or emergency evacuations.

For those U.S.-based family offices interviewed that don’t currently make their aircraft available for good causes, half said it was because they have not appointed anyone to manage this, and 30% say it is because they don’t have enough spare capacity to start using their aircraft for this purpose. However, of those interviewed who don’t currently make their aircraft available for charitable and humanitarian causes, 39% say they hope to start doing this within the next two years, and 54% say they hope to do so in the next two to three years.

Over the next three years, 9% of U.S. family offices surveyed say they expect the use of their business aircraft for good causes to increase significantly, and a further 67% say they expect it to rise slightly. A key reason for family offices using their business aircraft more for humanitarian purposes is their growing focus on philanthropy. Over the next two years, 86% say they plan to increase their budget for philanthropy – 12% expect a significant rise.

Some 16% of those surveyed say their budgets for philanthropic causes have increased significantly over the past three years, and 47% say they have risen slightly. One in five (21%) say they have stayed the same, and just 15% believe they have fallen. One percent say they didn’t know. For those that have increased their budget for philanthropy in the past three years, 59% say it has risen by between 20% and 30%, and 19% say it has increased by between 30% and 40%.

ACJ offers a range of large business aircraft. The recently launched ACJ TwoTwenty is carving out a whole new market segment – ‘The Xtra Large Bizjet’. The ACJ TwoTwenty offers twice the cabin real estate compared to similarly priced ULR business jets with market-leading fuel efficiency and unrivaled reliability. It occupies the same parking footprint as competitive ULR jets and can take off from the same airports, but the ACJ TwoTwenty operating costs are one-third less.

With a range of up to 5,650 nm (more than 12 flight hours), the ACJ TwoTwenty can meet the requirements of 99.9% of all U.S. departures,2 connecting city pairs including Los Angeles to London, Miami to Buenos Aires, and New York to Istanbul.

As with all ACJ aircraft, the ACJ TwoTwenty is capable of flying with up to a 50% blend of kerosene and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) while keeping to the technical specifications of Jet A. All Airbus commercial aircraft and helicopters will be capable of operating with 100% SAF by 2030. This capability will play an important role in the sector’s decarbonization journey.