Aviation360 MEA

According to a recent SherpaReport poll, over 44% of participants aim to increase their use of private aircraft in the future, and over 30% want to keep utilizing its advantages.

“Our survey suggests experienced flyers intend to stay and even increase their use of private aviation,” says Nick Copley, president of SherpaReport. “Although WingX has shown that private aviation flights decreased by 5% in the last year,” he adds.

Members of SherpaReport who respond to the survey tend to be well-off and savvy consumers who investigate their options to determine which kind of flying are best for them depending on the situation.

In fact, 38% of the 235 survey participants who use private aviation do so for personal reasons, and 31% do so for both personal and professional ones.

A staggering 91% of respondents claim they travel on private planes with friends and family, with the family dog frequently named as a VIP. The results of the survey unequivocally demonstrate that respondents use a broad range of private aviation options.

Currently, around 45% of travelers utilize jet cards or memberships, 37% fly charter, 19% own fractional aircraft, over 9% take shared or semi-private flights, over 8% fly on their own dime, and 6% use a company-owned jet.

Over 39% of respondents overall also fly for a living. “It’s simply untrue that people who use private aviation exclusively go privately. The affluent do occasionally use commercial airlines, according to Copley.

“Whereas someone may fly privately within North America, they may decide flying commercially makes most sense for a cross-Atlantic flight, for example.”

“Deciding when to fly privately and which product to use for what circumstance – jet cards, charters, or fractional ownership, for example – is challenging.”

“This is exactly the advice we, at SherpaReport, offer – customized, data-informed knowledge that guides people and companies in how best to optimize the various private aviation options,” adds Copley.