Younger Senior Execs Are Choosing Private Jet Travel

Private jet charter customers are getting younger, with many senior executives in their mid-30s increasingly flying in private jets, according to Air Partner.

Air Partner says the trend towards younger travellers chartering private jets is part of a larger move by a new generation of IT and high-tech savvy entrepreneurs in emerging markets taking advantage of the time-saving and efficiency benefits provided by private jets.

In the last five years there has been a doubling in the number of corporate jet travellers in their 30s flying on Air Partner’s private jets. There has also been a surge in flights to high-tech destinations such as San Jose, Seattle and Austin in the US and Dublin, Stockholm and Munich in Europe, in addition to the traditional business centres of London, Paris, New York and Berlin.

The move coincides with companies seeking increasing flexibility from corporate jet travel, with 70% of businesses booking private jet charters less than a week before they are due to fly.

The changing demographic follows the release of Air Partner’s recent financial results which showed private jet charter by senior executives across across a number of markets remains a popular choice among businesses and corporations.

Julia Timms, Air Partner’s Chief Marketing Officer, said: “We are pleased to report there is continuing high business confidence in corporate private jet travel, with bookings through Air Partner reporting healthy returns this year across a variety of business sectors.

“There is also a growing trend towards highly ambitious and creative young entrepreneurs in their 30s, particularly from IT, high-tech and emerging markets, joining established business travellers to appreciate the unbeatable benefits and flexibility offered by private corporate jets.

“Our corporate clients are also increasingly booking private corporate jets later, with 70 per cent arranging flights less than a week before they travel. This reflects the high-pressure environments our clients work in, where saving time and obtaining maximum value are crucial.”

As most business travel is rarely planned a month beforehand, Air Partner’s expert aviation planners offer an exceptionally quick and reactive service to corporate travel clients.

Thanks to their decades of experience, Air Partner’s aviation planners know high-pressured business travellers use corporate private jets when scheduled services cannot meet the tight timescales and diversity of destinations they need to operate under and fly to.

They are able to offer the right aircraft to enable private corporate jets travellers to quickly and efficiently hop from one destination to another, especially for intra-European short-haul flights. Flights can also be arranged to centrally located airports very poorly served by scheduled airlines, such as Teterboro in New Jersey, on the US east coast.

Demand for private jet corporate travel is strong across a wide-range of markets, with continuing strong interest from the financial, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and entertainment sectors.

The most popular business destinations for business flights taking off from within Europe are:

• London
• Paris
• New York.

The most popular private jet aircraft booked by corporate clients are:

• Citation XLS
• Cessna CItationJet 2
• Cessna Citation Sovereign
• Embraer Legacy 600/650

(Source: AirPartner)