Air Partner comments on busy summer private jet activity

Highlights:

• Over 2,000 flights operated between 1 June and 31 August 2017
• Summer Private Jet enquiries up 53% compared to same period last year
• Ibiza, Palma, Nice most popular European destinations from the UK
• Caribbean and Hamptons most popular in the US, compared to Florida and L.A. in 2016
• Growing trend for multi-flight holidays, often combining first-class with private jet charter
• Large number of clients combining business trips with leisure

The Private Jets division of Air Partner, the global aviation services group, has enjoyed a busy summer period, as it flew clients to all corners of the globe for family holidays, business trips, and various other sporting, film and music events – among others.

Private jet enquiries over the summer period increased 53% compared to the same timeframe in 2016, with a standout performance in August as the UK and US markets continued to outperform.

Popular destinations

The most popular European destinations from the UK remained Palma, Ibiza and Nice, as they were in 2016, with a particular trend this year being long weekend getaways in southern Italy, Ibiza and the South of France. In Germany, the most frequented routes were from Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt airports to the Southern Mediterranean, while a high number of French clients made the trip from Nice to Rome. Meanwhile, in the US, the hottest destinations were the Caribbean and the Hamptons, knocking Florida and Los Angeles off the top spot from 2016.

Summer trends

This year, Air Partner has also seen an increase in multi-flight trips that mix private jet charter with first class on commercial services, and has curated a number of exclusive destination holidays to meet this demand. In addition, the Private Jets team has seen a larger number of clients looking to take advantage of business trips by adding a holiday at the beginning or end.

Of all the aircraft chartered by Air Partner clients over the summer, the Cessna Citation Excel proved be the most popular, due to its competitive price and the fact that it is the smallest aircraft with standing headroom. The most consumed drink across the board was champagne.

Commenting on Air Partner’s summer performance, Director Julia Timms said: “We saw a growing trend for multi-destination trips this summer, and it is becoming increasingly popular to combine private jet charter with commercial first-class services - particularly when flying further afield. The summer is always an extremely busy period for the Private Jets team but it doesn’t stop there – we are already arranging charters for numerous skiing and Caribbean holidays over the winter months.”