The proliferation of fatal Coronavirus across different nations has brought a devastating impact on the commercial aviation industry. This is mainly due to the travel ban imposed by the U.S. government as well as the decreasing consumer demand for commercial planes. 

While the commercial aviation industry is suffering, private aviation is experiencing a notable increase in demand. Many people are starting to seek resources that could safely take them to their destinations. And with that, flying privately seems to be the best option.

What Top Executives Say About COVID-19’s Impact on the Private Aviation Industry

VistaJet, a popular aviation company in the U.S. has recorded a 16 percent of the total increase in the number of flights across all regions. Moreover, the U.S has seen the greatest number of flights in the first two months this year. These recorded flights make up 23 percent of global flights. Coronavirus deeply impacted many Asian countries. Still, the demand for private planes from the said continent remains stable at 11 percent.

Furthermore, the leading private aircraft service Air Charter Service said that it received booking requests from people whose flights have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Vista Jet

Thomas Flohr, the founder and chairman of Vista Jet and Vista Global said that the last few months are filled with many events and that “business as usual” is not applicable for 2020. Flohr is certain that the surge that is recorded over the past 10 weeks includes customers who are looking for safer alternatives to flying commercially. He also said that the flexibility and agility of VistaJet is an assurance that they are well-prepared to face the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.

According to Flohr, the maximum safety and well-being of both their passengers and crew are VistaJet’s priority. The changes associated with the spread of the virus lead them to find innovative and intelligent ways to cater to the needs of their customers. VistaJet has been monitoring the pandemic since the first cases were reported in the last weeks of 2019 so they can adapt their logistics to it.

What Top Executives Say About COVID-19’s Impact on the Private Aviation Industry

On the other hand, Eric DuFay, the director of charter sales at JetSuite noted that they have seen an increase of about five to 10 percent in the demand for private planes within the past few weeks. JetSuite also received a few more bookings from corporate clients who are not allowed to travel through commercial airports.

Magellan Jets’ CEO Joshua Hebert said he noticed that businesses that usually fly their executives on first-class commercial flights are now looking for safer and more economical alternatives. There was also an increase in the number of people who normally travel through commercial flights but are now booking private planes. 

Commercial Airlines

As commercial airlines continue to impose travel bans, Hebert is expecting transcontinental flight requests to increase further. 

“The safety, security, and health of our clients is of the utmost importance to us,” Hebert said, noting that Magellan Jets has already established a COVID-19 task force that will prioritize the round-the-clock safety of their clients. He further emphasized that they are in constant communication with their operators to maintain top levels of safety and security for their customers. 

Andrew Collins, the president and CEO of Sentient Jets said that their company focuses on passenger safety and that they are consistently monitoring the development of the Coronavirus pandemic. And while Sentient Jet’s top priority is keeping their clients safe, they are cautiously traveling to different destinations around the world, excluding countries with a high risk of infection such as Iran, China, South Korea, and many areas of Europe.

According to Collins, clients have been understanding about Sentient Jets’ changes and they have reported a 17 percent substantial flying growth last March. This flight growth is a result of the current uptick of COVID-19 cases.

“The outbreak of coronavirus continues to evolve, along with the travel advice, and restrictions have been placed on all aspects of flight, including business aviation which are being updated almost daily,” said Jetcraft Asia’s president David Dixon. 

Dixon said that the current event that is happening is a Deja vu for him as the same thing also happened during the SARS outbreak in 2002 and 2003. With regard to the aircraft manufacturing industry, it was reported that Boeing, Airbus, and Safran have all confirmed disruption because of the continuous shut down of factories and assembly lines. 

What Top Executives Say About COVID-19’s Impact on the Private Aviation Industry

On the other hand, Justin Lancaster, the commercial director at Air Charter Service, mentioned ever since the pandemic, their offices across the globe have been arranging flights on local charter aircraft while people deal with travel cancelations and overall cut to passenger capacity. According to Lancaster, they have flown as little as four passengers on a private aircraft to as many as hundreds of passengers on a larger plane. They have also flown 100 tons of face masks ever since the pandemic was first reported. 

Some families chose to fly on a private plane to avoid the chances of getting infected if they fly commercially. Apart from people, Air Charter Service has also flown different relief cargo like protective suits, medical gloves, and millions of face masks. 

While the pandemic is the worst challenge itself, the biggest challenge for the aviation industry, according to Lancaster is ensuring that all government and medical advice are abided to prevent the virus from spreading further.

Wrap Up

MySky’s co-founder, Christopher Marich mentioned that they have also seen a dramatic increase in the demand for private jets during the past few weeks. This increase is brought about by uncertainty, sanitary, and safety precautions to people who need to travel but do not want to mingle with people in commercial airports.

According to Marich, while the demand for private planes is above the average level, it is still too early to predict a year-over-year change. And while the pandemic is boosting the private jet industry, Marich believes that they are only experiencing an increase before an upcoming decrease in the demand for flying privately. Moreover, if Coronavirus continues to proliferate, they are expecting people to completely stop traveling.