Private jets soar past global pandemic, oil price woes

Airlines may find themselves swept up in unprecedented turbulence -- with air travel shunned over climate concerns, plagued by pandemic shutdowns and soaring oil prices -- but for private jet operators, business is booming. The appeal of private jets has taken off since the start of the pandemic, amid fear of catching Covid-19 and as widespread cancellations and stringent measures have turned flying commercial into a logistics headache. "The impact of Covid really forced people to look elsewhere for their travel needs," said Philippe Scalabrini, who heads the southern European division of the international private aviation company VistaJet. "Anyone who can afford it wants an entire plane at their disposal," he said, adding that "private aviation, as whole, has had an incredible surge of demand over the past two years." Numbers from air traffic regulator Eurocontrol appear to confirm that. It found that private air travel nearly doubled its global market share between 2019 and 2021, when it stood at 12%. Standing inside the newest addition to the VistaJet fleet, the Global 7500 built by Canadian business jet maker Bombardier, Scalabrini showed off what air travel can look like in that exclusive market. Abord the luxury plane, costing a whopping $72m, clients can enjoy plush cream-coloured leather chairs, a large double bed, and wine tasting. To limit jet lag, the cabin pressure can be better regulated than on commercial flights, allowing clients to sleep as soundly "as at their cabin in Saint-Moritz", the chic Alpine ski resort, Scalabrini said. More than anything, the pandemic has driven the latest upsurge in demand. Scalabrini said "the Covid effect" last year helped VistaJet swell the number of flying hours sold by 90%. And the company, founded in 2004 by Swiss billionaire Thomas Flohr, announced last month the purchase of Air Hamburg, in a move it said would help grow its flying hours by another 30%.<br/>