Three of the largest private jet flight providers are indicating that demand for private jet travel is not letting up – both in the U.S. and in emerging markets.
Private jet flying in the U.S. is likely to beat the record level it set during the pandemic, first in 2021, a mark it exceeded in 2022, according to data from ARGUS TRAQPak.
Worldwide, on a weekly basis over 47 weeks so far, WingX data shows private jet flight departures have been ahead of last year 41 weeks, equal three times, and seen only three weeks where flights tracked below 2024, one of which was in Week 1.
Looking back to last Thanksgiving week, WingX data shows the busiest city flows were on the West Coast.
The top were Las Vegas to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Los Angeles to San Francisco, San Francisco to Los Angeles, Palm Beach to New York, New York to Palm Beach, New York to Miami, New York to Boston, Boston to New York, and Miami to New York.
Flexjet, the second-largest private jet flight provider, said it expects the busiest holiday period in its 30-year history.
Through Sunday, bookings as of earlier this week were 42% ahead of last year over a two-week period.
The company had already seen flying running at a 20% year-over-year pace.
Bookings from its fractional owners for the December festive period are currently tracking 40% ahead of where they were a year ago.
A Flexjet spokesperson attributes the spike to the recently ended government shutdown.
She said, “Fresh off government shutdowns causing delays at the nation’s busiest commercial airports, those with the means to fly privately but may not have done so regularly in the past, are opting to do so with far greater frequency.”
Earlier this week, NetJets Aviation President Patrick Gallagher gave a positive indicator for future demand.
Posting on LinkedIn, he wrote, “In addition to a successful 2025, the team has already pre-sold well over half of the aircraft that we expect to take delivery of next year!”
Its fractional ownership contracts typically run five-years, so the individuals and companies who have bought that access generally believe they expect to maintain that level of private jet flying for the duration.
Fractional ownership starts at 50 flight hours per year.
Like Flexjet, the unit of Berkshire Hathaway is also investing on the ground with its own private terminals.
The previous week, it said a Las Vegas location is on track to open next year.
It revealed plans for its own private terminal in Augusta, Georgia, the site of the famous Masters golf tournament and the Augusta National club.
WingX data shows NetJets with over 450,000 flights year-to-date through last Sunday.
The world’s largest private jet flying is 11% ahead of 2024 and up 64% compared to pre-COVID-2019 levels.
According to the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway annual report, employees at its NetJets unit increased from 6,476 in 2019 to 9,106 at the end of 2024.
Earlier this year, Flexjet placed a firm order with Embraer for 182 private jets, the first of which will be delivered next year.
It also placed an order for 300 Phantom 3500s, a yet-to-be-built private jet from Otto Aerospace while taking delivery of its first Gulfstream G700.
NetJets is working on offering option agreements with Embraer, Bombardier, and Textron Aviation that could see it buy over 1,500 new jets in the coming years.
At the start of November, NetJets had 818 private jets in its fleet.
Separately, Vista, the third-major player, said its entry into the domestic market in Saudi Arabia was off to a flying start.
Officials told a local TV station it had operated 37 domestic flight there since becoming the foreign first charter operator to receive permission.
Flying to and from Saudi Arabia had already been tracking 32% year-over-year gains in the first half of 2025.
Demand is from both business and high-end tourists being attracted by new luxury resorts.