Allison Lampert

LAS VEGAS, Reuters – While private jets were once a safe haven from the airport wait lines, the fading pandemic has made it so that wealthy passengers now find themselves in the middle of cancellations or delays.

The crunch may be frustrating to some travelers on jets, but it’s a good thing for companies that make corporate jets designed for 19-plus passengers. New orders will be announced at the biggest business jet show, starting Tuesday.

However, charter and fractional plane owners are facing a tough time as they lose business and face more pressure during the holiday season.

In the United States, traffic has risen to levels not seen since 2019. Executives stated that this is due to staff shortages.

NetJets Inc has recently stopped selling jet cards. These allow customers to prepay for flight hours.

According to the world’s biggest private jet manufacturer, it will invest approximately $2.5B in 100 aircraft that will be delivered by 2022.

“The vast number of flights is taxing the air travel infrastructure in ways we haven’t seen in years,” said Ohio-based NetJets.

The June 2021 pandemic saw 10 times as many flights being delayed by air traffic control compared to June 2020 when there was no panic.

According to a statement, flight demand “currently exceeds all other highs” over its 57-year history. In 2019, there are an average of 500 flights per day, compared with less than 400 in 2019.

According to the report, “While many owners experienced normal business in recent travels,” it stated. However, there have been a handful of challenges associated with increased industry demand.

Fly Exclusive provides charter aircraft to operators as a wholesale service. This is due to increasing demand from their customers for more aircraft.

As operators of corporate jetmakers are the key customer, investors must be attentive to the dynamics in the private aircraft market. Investors should therefore closely follow the developments.

Affluent travellers are complaining about the delays and are looking for other options.

Amanda Applegate is a partner in Aerlex Law group, an aviation law firm. She said that she was contacted by 10 clients last month who complained about their services.

“In good times I don’t get any calls or at most one or two every six months or so,” said Applegate, who works on deals to buy and sell planes and is an information hub for her clients.

Applegate stated that she doesn’t know what to say to private jet customers who want the best service. Applegate stated, “There is simply not enough capacity.”

VistaJet’s chief commercial officer Ian Moore said that customers are less likely to be penalized for cancelling or postponing flights last-minute because of being stuck at a meeting.

These planes won’t be waiting. Moore stated that there isn’t enough stock to do so.