Gitnux/Report 2026

Air Charter Industry Statistics

The global air charter services market reached $32.55 billion in 2025, explore how growth, fragmented operators, and 2026 booking behavior shape the figures.
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Air Charter Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Before any source is gathered, an editor locks the question, what qualifies, and how the piece will be judged.

02Source Research

Search agents collect the source set and pull each data point out with its provenance attached.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The air charter industry at a glance

The global air charter services market reached $32.55 billion in 2025, while U.S. charter and fractional private-jet departures rose 6% year over year to 1.45 million.

$32.55B[76]
Global market size, 2025
5.9%[76]
Forecast CAGR, 2025–2030
1.45M[43]
U.S. charter departures, 2025
1,837[77]
U.S. Part 135 certificate holders, 2026
Market size
The global air charter services market reached $32.55 billion in 2025, according to The Business Research Company. A separate estimate from Fortune Business Insights valued the market at $40 billion in 2025, reflecting differences in market scope and methodology.[76][78]
Forecast & CAGR
The Business Research Company forecasts growth from $32.55 billion in 2025 to $43.04 billion in 2030, representing a 5.9% compound annual growth rate. Fortune Business Insights projects growth from $43 billion in 2026 to $80 billion in 2034, equivalent to a 7.9% CAGR.[76][78]
Market share & regions
North America was the largest regional market in 2025, while Asia-Pacific was identified as the fastest-growing region. The U.S. recorded 1,448,409 charter and fractional private-jet departures in 2025, up 6% from 2024.[76][43]
Segmentation
Air charter services are commonly segmented by aircraft type, including business jets, turboprops and helicopters; by application, including passenger and cargo; and by range, including domestic and international services. The market also spans on-demand charter, jet-card programs, fractional operations and brokered charter.[78][76]
Key players & concentration
The U.S. market remains structurally fragmented: the FAA lists 1,837 Part 135 certificate holders and 11,582 authorized aircraft as of 2026. About 550 Part 135 certificate holders, or roughly 30% of the total, were single-pilot or single-PIC operators in 2024, indicating a large long tail of small providers.[77][62]
Pricing
Average North American jet-card pricing was $11,426 per occupied flight hour in the first quarter of 2026, ranging from $6,729 for turboprops to $19,301 for ultra-long-range jets. Rates included fuel surcharges and the 7.5% U.S. federal excise tax.[79]
Trends, drivers & challenges
U.S. charter and fractional departures reached 1.45 million in 2025, 45% above 2019 levels, but WINGX described charter activity as weaker than its 2022 peak. Key operating challenges include aircraft and engine-maintenance bottlenecks, labor costs, fuel-price volatility and safety oversight across a wide range of operator sizes.[43][80][62]
Consumer behavior & competition
Private aviation demand is increasingly split among on-demand charter, branded charter, fractional ownership and aircraft-management programs. In 2025, U.S. charter and fractional departures rose 6% year over year, while WINGX reported that fractional activity was the strongest operator segment in 2026 year-to-date, up 9.6% in its Week 43 analysis.[43][80]
M&A
M&A remains active among fragmented charter and aircraft-management providers. Valiair completed its acquisition of Dallas-based Superior Air Charter, while Black Forest Ventures acquired MAC Air Group, including MAC Jet Charter, in April 2026.[81][82]
Regulation
In the United States, most on-demand passenger and cargo charter operations fall under FAA 14 CFR Part 135. The FAA reported 1,837 Part 135 certificate holders and 11,582 authorized aircraft in 2026; the NTSB has highlighted that Part 135 covers operations ranging from single-pilot charter providers to larger commuter, air-ambulance and charter operators.[77][62]
Latest news
WINGX reported in October 2026 that global business-jet activity was growing more slowly, with year-to-date fractional activity up 9.6%, aircraft management up 4.1% and branded charter down 0.7%. The figures point to continued demand for private aviation but softer performance in branded charter than in fractional and managed operations.[80]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Air Charter Industry

The leading companies in the air charter industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 11, 2026 · Next review December 11, 2026

Verdict

Flexjet stands out for fractional ownership and jet-card programs because it reported $4.6 billion in combined year-end 2025 revenue and a fleet exceeding 340 aircraft, while Jet Aviation focuses on aircraft management and charter since it provides aircraft management and charter services from a global network of facilities.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in fractional & jet cards

    Flexjet

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.7 · Fractional & jet cards

    Why we picked it: It covers fractional ownership, jet cards, and charter at scale, supported by $4.6 billion in 2025 revenue.

    See in ranking ↓Visit flexjet.com ↗

  2. Leader in aircraft management & charter

    Jet Aviation

    CH

    Ranked #2 · 9.5 · Aircraft management & charter

    Why we picked it: It focuses on managing aircraft and delivering charter from a distributed set of facilities.

    See in ranking ↓Visit jetaviation.com ↗

  3. Leader in charter brokerage

    Air Charter Service

    GB

    Ranked #4 · 9.0 · Charter brokerage

    Why we picked it: It operates as a brokerage across private jet, group, and cargo charter with 35,467 arranged flights in 2025.

    See in ranking ↓Visit aircharterservice.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the air charter industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Flexjet

Fractional & jet cards · US

9.7
2

Jet Aviation

Aircraft management & charter · CH

9.5
3

NetJets

Fractional & jet cards · US

9.5
4

Air Charter Service

Charter brokerage · GB

9.0
5

Vista Global

On-demand charter subscription · AE

8.8
6

flyExclusive

On-demand charter subscription · US

8.6
7

Gama Aviation

Aircraft management & charter · GB

8.6
8

AirSprint

Fractional & jet cards · CA

8.2
9

GlobeAir

Charter brokerage · AT

7.9
10

Jet Linx Aviation

Aircraft management & charter · US

7.7

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 11, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 11). Top 10 companies in the air charter industry. In Air Charter Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/air-charter-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Projection

U.S. nonscheduled chartered passenger air transportation revenue, all establishments

U.S. nonscheduled chartered passenger air transportation revenue, all establishments grew from 15,117,325 thousands of U.S. dollars in 2020 to 28,323,969 thousands of U.S. dollars in 2024.

$15.1M
Start
+17%
CAGR · 4y
$28.3M
Projected
20202024
source-verifiedalfred.stlouisfed.org2024

03 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

Booking remains advisor-led: 76.5% of charter bookings were completed through direct consultation in 2026, while only 23% of surveyed users had used an app to book in 2023–2024.

Automation in the air charter industry

  • 76.5% of charter bookings were completed through direct consultation with a flight advisor rather than self-service technology, according to a 2026 private-aviation analysis.[1]
  • 23% of surveyed private-aviation users had used an app to book a charter flight, according to the 2023–2024 Business Jet Traveler survey.[2]

Digital Transformation in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 63% expected digitalization to enhance customer experience in 2025.[3]
  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 69% expected digitalization to improve efficiency in 2025.[3]
  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 51% identified high costs as a challenge to digitalizing logistics operations in 2025.[3]
  • Across surveyed freight forwarders and logistics providers, 49% had digitized 50% or fewer of business processes or transactions in November 2024.[4]
  • Across surveyed freight forwarders and logistics providers, 23% had digitized more than 75% of business processes or transactions in November 2024.[4]

Technology Adoption in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among 2026 transportation-management survey respondents, 19% of shippers reported using AI at scale.[5]
  • Across transportation and logistics organizations, 53% were partially or fully deploying automated real-time shipment tracking to address knowledge-worker shortages in 2024.[5]
  • Across transportation and logistics organizations, 53% were partially or fully deploying AI to reduce workloads in 2024.[5]
  • Across transportation and logistics executives surveyed in Europe and North America, 44% were using AI for transportation planning and optimization in 2025.[6]
  • Among 2026 transportation-management survey respondents, 15% of logistics service providers reported using AI at scale.[5]

Cloud Computing in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across travel, transportation and logistics companies surveyed globally, 84% had increased AI and machine-learning investment during the preceding one to two years.[7]
  • Across travel, transportation and logistics companies surveyed globally, 89% planned to increase AI and machine-learning investment during the following one to two years.[7]
  • Across travel, transportation and logistics companies surveyed globally, 75% said cloud was crucial to their organization’s future in 2023.[7]
  • Across travel, transportation and logistics companies surveyed globally, 85% said leadership viewed cloud as a long-term investment in 2023.[7]

Big Data in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • 45% of surveyed multinational logistics and supply-chain organizations said in 2024 that they were using logistics data to its full potential, according to a survey of 60 organizations.[8]
  • 38% of surveyed GCC logistics organizations used structured data, while 20% recognized a systematic link between data and business insights, according to a 2023 study.[9]
  • 12.5% of transportation and storage enterprises used both cloud computing and big-data analytics, according to the OECD’s 2026 sectoral comparison of enterprise technology adoption.[10]
  • 9.5% of transportation and storage enterprises used big-data analytics alone in the OECD’s 2026 cross-sector comparison, based on the latest available enterprise data.[10]
  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 49% expected digitalization to improve data visibility in 2025.[3]
  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 34% identified data analytics, including cloud platforms and AI-powered solutions, as the most critical technology in 2025.[3]

IoT in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 18% identified IoT as the most impactful technology in 2025.[3]
  • 72% of surveyed transportation respondents said they currently had IoT deployed for fleet management in Verizon’s 2025 IoT market survey.[11]
  • 72% of transport and logistics businesses had fully deployed at least one IoT project in 2021, while 29% had completed a deployment during the preceding 12 months.[12]
  • Among global logistics decision-makers, 23% identified IoT as the most critical technology in 2025.[3]
  • 53% of surveyed supply-chain professionals were using IoT devices for real-time shipment tracking in 2024, up from 25% in 2023.[13]
  • 88% of surveyed transport respondents had developed or were developing an IoT strategy in 2024, up from 46% with a completed formal strategy in 2021.[14]

Innovation in the air charter industry

  • Charter business-jet departures increased 18% from 2022 to 2023 in the Global Jet Capital analysis.[15]
  • 145 average annual utilization hours per charter aircraft were recorded globally in 2025, compared with 779 hours for fractional aircraft.[16]

04 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Analytical concentration shows up in flight-hour patterns: 92% of fractional flight hours were flown by NetJets and Flexjet in 2025.

Business intelligence in the air charter industry

  • 300-plus jets were offered through VistaJet’s global subscription model, a scale indicator relevant to charter-market intelligence in 2025.[16]
  • 92% of fractional flight hours were flown by NetJets and Flexjet in 2025, indicating strong concentration among major private-aviation operators.[16]
  • 10.8% was the compound annual growth rate of fractional flight hours from 2019 to 2025, providing a comparison for charter-market planning.[16]
  • 4.2% was the compound annual growth rate of charter flight hours from 2019 to 2025, based on global WINGX Air Insights data.[16]

Data analytics in the air charter industry

  • 19% more hours were flown by the average business aircraft in 2025 than in 2019, according to WINGX Air Insights data used for industry analysis.[16]
  • 145 annual flight hours per aircraft was charter’s average utilization in 2025, a key operational-analytics measure globally.[16]
  • 4.2% was charter’s annualized flight-hour growth from 2019 to 2025, a data-derived indicator of charter demand development globally.[16]
  • 6.4 million business-aviation flight hours were recorded globally in 2025, creating the aggregate activity base for charter analytics.[16]

Data Quality in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across supply management organizations, 67% said their data quality was better or significantly better than two years earlier in 2024.[17]
  • Across transportation and logistics shippers, 33% identified data quality as a top barrier to scaling artificial intelligence in 2026.[5]
  • Across supply management organizations, 49% rated their data quality as good or excellent in 2024.[17]
  • Across supply management organizations, 33% rated their data-security ability as very high for assuring data quality in 2024.[17]

Data Governance in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across supply management organizations with a data-governance program, 81% found the program useful in 2024.[17]
  • Across supply management organizations, 61% had a dedicated data-governance function in 2024.[17]
  • Across supply management organizations with a data-governance function, 47% housed it in a center of excellence in 2024.[17]
  • 49% of shipper respondents said their supply chain governance maturity was running in place, with no noticeable progress, in the 2024 global survey.[18]
  • 32% of transport and logistics respondents said data governance or security was a primary challenge when preparing data for artificial intelligence in 2024.[19]
  • 33% of 3PL respondents said their supply chain governance maturity was running ahead, meaning proactive and predictable, in the 2024 global survey.[18]

KPIs in the air charter industry

  • 28.3% was the year-over-year decrease in Wheels Up flight revenue in 2024, to $633.9 million, according to its annual filing.[20]
  • $792.1 million was Wheels Up’s total revenue in 2024, including $633.9 million from flights and $57.6 million from memberships.[20]
  • 28.1% was Jet Midwest’s decrease in charter block hours from 2024 to 2025, falling from 7,582 to 4,580 hours.[21]
  • 34.8% was Jet Midwest’s decrease in charter revenue from $95.5 million in 2024 to $62.3 million in 2025.[21]

05 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Capacity and utilization support the demand picture, with charter’s average annual utilization at 145 flight hours per aircraft recorded globally in 2025.

Growth in the air charter industry

  • Charter flight hours grew at a 4.2% compound annual rate from 2019 to 2025, according to business-aviation data analyzed by McKinsey.[16]
  • Air Partner’s gross profit increased 7.1% to £40.8 million in 2024 from £38.1 million in 2023.[22]
  • Air Charter Service reported annual revenue in excess of $1 billion in 2026.[23]

Mergers and acquisitions in the air charter industry

  • The completed Avinode sale generated $200.4 million in net cash proceeds for World Kinect in 2024.[21]
  • World Kinect agreed to sell Avinode Group and aviation FBO software products to CAMP Systems for approximately $200 million in cash in 2024.[24]
  • Wheels Up’s 2022 acquisition of Air Partner added operations in 18 locations across four continents.[25]
  • Wheels Up acquired Air Partner for approximately $109 million in enterprise value in 2022.[26]

Strategic partnerships in the air charter industry

  • Avinode’s platform integration with STACK.aero connected charter brokers with aircraft operators through a dedicated CRM workflow in 2022.[27]
  • Avinode’s 2024 charter-booking workflow was developed in collaboration with operator and broker members across marketplace, payment and scheduling products.[28]

06 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce movement runs through operator models, with 11% of pilots who moved between business-aviation jobs joining a charter operator.

Hiring in the air charter industry

  • 11% of pilots who moved between business-aviation jobs joined a charter operator, according to a recent business-aviation workforce study.[29]
  • 337,855 airframe-and-powerplant mechanics were employed in the United States in 2024, with slightly more than 9,000 newly certified.[30]

Remote Work in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. transportation and utilities, 20.3% of workers could work from home in 2024–2025, while 18.6% actually did so, according to annual averages.[31]
  • Among U.S. transportation, logistics, supply-chain and storage hires, 17.0% of hires at small companies were remote during the year ending September 2024.[32]
  • In the U.S. transportation and warehousing industry, 13.9% of wage and salary employees worked from home in January 2025.[33]
  • Across U.S. transportation and utilities occupations, about 11% of workers worked remotely at least sometimes from October 2023 through September 2024.[34]

Hybrid Work in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among transportation employers surveyed for the U.S. Job Outlook, 33.3% reported fully hybrid work arrangements in 2024.[35]
  • Among U.S. remote-capable employees, 54% worked hybrid schedules in August 2026.[36]
  • Globally, 25% of engaged employees were working in hybrid arrangements in 2025, compared with 30% of exclusively remote employees and 17% of on-site, non-remote-capable employees.[36]
  • Across transportation and logistics companies surveyed globally, 42% reported a hybrid work arrangement in 2025.[37]

Employee Engagement in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • In U.S. logistics, 71% of frontline workers reported workplace stress in 2024.[38]
  • Across Asia-Pacific transport and logistics organizations, 62% of employees were actively engaged, based on feedback from 30,116 employees in 24 surveys.[39]
  • In U.S. logistics, more than 60% of frontline workers considered their roles long-term career commitments in 2024.[38]
  • Globally, 20% of employees were engaged at work in 2025, while 16% were actively disengaged.[36]
  • In U.S. logistics, 40% of frontline workers wanted to quit in 2024, according to a survey of 500 logistics employees.[38]

Change Management in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among surveyed shippers, 58% reported using a structured change-management framework in the 2025 Third-Party Logistics Study.[40]
  • Across large logistics organizations, 76% of transformation initiatives failed to meet critical budget, timeline or KPI metrics in a global survey conducted in late 2023.[41]
  • Among surveyed third-party logistics providers, 76% reported using a structured change-management framework in the 2025 Third-Party Logistics Study.[40]
  • Across supply-chain organizations, only 15% of digital initiatives achieved at least 90% of their targeted benefits in Gartner research published in 2024.[41]
  • Among third-party logistics providers using a change-management approach, 33% reported using one of the named frameworks surveyed in 2025.[40]

07 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Private-aviation choice drivers skew toward time and experience, including 68.9% citing door-to-door time savings over airlines.

Customer experience in the air charter industry

  • 34% rated Jet Aviation excellent, 46% good, 17% fair and 3% poor in the Business Jet Traveler charter and jet-card operator survey.[2]
  • 54.1% of people considering private aviation said airline or airport delays and negative experiences were prompting them to consider private flying.[42]
  • 51% of surveyed respondents rated NetJets excellent, 39% good, 8% fair and 3% poor in the Business Jet Traveler charter and jet-card operator survey.[2]
  • 68.9% of surveyed private-aviation users said door-to-door time savings over airlines was a reason for choosing private jets.[43]

Customer retention in the air charter industry

  • 39.9% of private-aviation users who began flying after the COVID-19 pandemic said they expected to continue using private aviation regularly in the survey year.[44]
  • 83% of surveyed charter users planned to continue chartering indefinitely, according to the 2023–2024 Business Jet Traveler survey.[2]

Customer acquisition in the air charter industry

  • 54.1% of prospective private-aviation users cited airline or airport delays and negative experiences as reasons for considering private flying.[42]
  • 68.9% of surveyed private-aviation users chose private jets partly because of door-to-door time savings compared with airlines.[43]

08 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Broker acquisition relies on reputation and word of mouth, with 92% of charter brokers reporting word of mouth use in the 2023 survey.

Marketing in the air charter industry

  • 71% of charter brokers said reputation was used to retain customers in the 2023 survey.[45]
  • 77% of charter brokers reported using email marketing to attract clients in the 2023 survey.[45]
  • 71% of charter brokers reported using networking at events to attract clients in the 2023 survey.[45]
  • 92% of charter brokers reported using word of mouth to attract new clients in the 2023 survey of charter brokers.[45]

Digital marketing in the air charter industry

  • 73% of charter brokers reported using digital marketing to attract clients in the 2023 survey.[45]
  • 61% of private-jet operators reported preparing 20 or more quotes for every charter in a PrivateFly survey.[46]
  • 92% of private-aviation operators surveyed by PrivateFly reported using search-engine optimization as part of their marketing efforts.[46]

Social media in the air charter industry

  • 2.9 million TikTok followers were reported for Amalfi Jets in a 2026 profile of its private-aviation social-media strategy.[47]
  • 63% of charter brokers reported using social media to attract new clients in the 2023 survey.[45]
  • 50% of charter brokers reported reaching clients through social media in the 2023 survey.[45]
  • 270,000 followers were reported for Atlas Air across Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and YouTube after three years of social-media activity.[47]

Influencer Marketing in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • 43% of worldwide B2B marketers who achieved positive results said micro-influencers generated the most success in 2024.[48]
  • 55% of B2B companies used influencers in 2025, according to a global survey of marketing decision-makers.[49]
  • 49% of B2B marketers selected industry relevance as a criterion for choosing influencers in 2025, globally.[49]
  • 53% of U.S. B2B marketers reported a growing dedicated influencer-marketing budget in 2024 survey data.[48]
  • 58% of B2B marketers selected authenticity and credibility as criteria for choosing influencers in 2025, globally.[49]

09 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Conversion and utilization both matter, with a 3% typical conversion rate for charter quote requests cited by industry panelists in 2026.

Process optimization in the air charter industry

  • 100 charter-broker requests per day could reach an individual carrier through Avinode, according to OPES JET’s chief executive.[50]
  • 3% was the typical conversion rate for charter quote requests cited by industry panelists in 2026.[43]
  • 35%–50% was the average annual booking lead-conversion rate reported by OPES JET after three years of operating a reverse-auction charter marketplace.[50]

Operational efficiency in the air charter industry

  • 18% of business-aviation flight hours were operated by charter in 2025, down from 19% in 2019.[16]
  • Charter operators’ three-month utilization in Q3 2025 was 4% higher than the same period in 2024.[51]
  • Charter operators’ three-month utilization in Q3 2025 was 36% higher than the same period in 2019.[51]
  • 145 hours was the average annual utilization per charter aircraft in 2025, compared with 779 hours for fractional aircraft.[16]

Quality management in the air charter industry

  • 100% is the multiplier used in NBAA’s dispatch-reliability formula after subtracting qualifying delays from departures and dividing by departures plus cancellations.[29]
  • 30 minutes is the minimum delay threshold included in NBAA’s maintenance-related dispatch-reliability calculation for business-aircraft operators.[29]

Supply chain in the air charter industry

  • Grounded aircraft undergoing maintenance and engine-reserve expenses were identified as primary drivers of Premier Air Charter Holdings’ 2025 operating loss.[21]
  • 53.6% was Premier Air Charter Holdings’ revenue growth in 2025, driven primarily by core aircraft charter operations and higher fleet utilization.[21]
  • 2.00 dollars per gallon is the Jet A fuel-price threshold above which Wheels Up applies a fuel surcharge to operated flights.[21]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the transportation and logistics sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across surveyed logistics companies in Germany, the rest of Europe and Latin America, 65% expected outsourcing to continue increasing in 2026.[52]
  • Across surveyed logistics companies in Germany, the rest of Europe and Latin America, about 60% had fully outsourced transportation services in 2026.[52]
  • Across surveyed logistics companies in Germany, the rest of Europe and Latin America, 57% planned outsourcing projects in warehousing in 2026.[52]
  • Across surveyed logistics companies in Germany, the rest of Europe and Latin America, 25% had fully outsourced warehouse operations in 2026.[52]

10 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Price dispersion remains visible in samples, with a 68% quoted price spread between the highest and lowest offers in JetFlo’s Q2 2026 European charter sample.

Pricing strategy in the air charter industry

  • 68% was the quoted price spread between the highest and lowest offers in JetFlo’s Q2 2026 European charter sample for a single-operator quote.[53]
  • 50 charter requests generated 374 individual operator offers in JetFlo’s Q2 2026 European charter sample.[53]
  • 100,000 euros was the normal quoted cost for a private charter from Riyadh to Porto before the 2026 Dubai disruption, according to JET-VIP.[54]
  • 1.3% was the increase in effective hourly rates for jet-club and charter services in 2025 compared with 2024.[21]

Cost reduction in the air charter industry

  • 30% or more is Wheels Up’s long-term target for adjusted contribution margin as aircraft return to revenue service and the company scales its fleet.[21]
  • 70 hours is Wheels Up’s long-term annual run-rate utility goal for aircraft returning to revenue service.[21]

Profitability in the air charter industry

  • 325.5 million dollars was Airshare’s jet-club and charter revenue in 2025, up 10.2% from 2024.[21]
  • 31.88 million dollars was Premier Air Charter Holdings’ total revenue in 2025, up 53.6% from 2024.[21]
  • 8.8% was the increase in Airshare’s jet-club and charter flight hours in 2025 compared with 2024.[21]
  • 11.79 million dollars was the year-over-year increase in Premier Air Charter Holdings’ charter revenue in 2025.[21]

Financial planning in the air charter industry

  • 14.9% was Airshare’s total-revenue growth in 2025 compared with 2024.[21]
  • 34.8% was the decrease in Jet Midwest’s charter revenue from 2024 to 2025, from 95.5 million dollars to 62.3 million dollars.[21]
  • 10.2% was Airshare’s increase in jet-club and charter revenue in 2025 compared with 2024.[21]
  • 66.1% was Airshare’s increase in fractional-ownership revenue in 2025 compared with 2024.[21]

11 Statistics

Product & Service

Product mix tracks utilization and access models, with 145 flight hours per aircraft as charter’s average utilization in 2025 globally.

Product development in the air charter industry

  • More than 100 aircraft were operated by flyExclusive under a prepaid membership model in 2025, globally.[16]
  • 8 charter operators managed fleets of more than 50 aircraft in 2025, compared with only 1 operator 20 years earlier, globally.[16]
  • More than 300 jets were accessible through VistaJet’s subscription-based charter model, globally, as cited for 2025.[16]
  • 1.4% was the annual growth rate of the global business-aircraft fleet from 2017 to 2018, reaching 37,792 aircraft, including charter-relevant business aviation assets.[55]

Product lifecycle in the air charter industry

  • 6.4 million total business-aviation flight hours were recorded in 2025, compared with 4.7 million in 2019, globally.[16]
  • 145 flight hours per aircraft was the average charter utilization in 2025, globally, versus 779 hours for fractional aircraft.[16]
  • 19% more hours were flown by the average business aircraft in 2025 than in 2019, reflecting higher utilization and more professional operations.[16]
  • 18% of global business-aviation flight hours came from charter in 2025, compared with 19% in 2019.[16]

Value proposition in the air charter industry

  • 46% was the year-over-year decrease in Wheels Up active members in 2024, following regionalization and streamlining of its membership offering in the United States.[20]
  • $16,594 was Jet Midwest’s average charter rate per block hour in 2025, up 4.8% from $12,590 in 2024, according to its U.S. filing.[21]
  • $633.9 million was Wheels Up’s 2024 flight revenue, while membership revenue was $57.6 million, reflecting its charter-and-membership value proposition in the United States.[20]
  • $216.5 million was Volato’s combined jet-club and charter revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, up 30% year over year.[56]

12 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Carbon-offset participation is small at the point of purchase, with Air Charter Service offering a 0.5% additional charge for customers choosing to offset flight emissions.

Sustainability in the air charter industry

  • 0.5% of charter price was the additional charge offered by Air Charter Service from February 2020 for customers choosing to offset flight emissions.[57]
  • 0.04% is the estimated share of global emissions attributable to the air charter industry, according to the Air Charter Association.[58]
  • 928 tonnes of CO2e were Air Charter Service’s reported internal-operational emissions for the February 2021–January 2022 reporting period, globally.[59]
  • 156.7 tonnes of CO2 were Air Charter Service’s total reported Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in 2023, versus 130 tonnes in 2022.[60]

ESG in the air charter industry

  • 276 tonnes of CO2e represented Air Charter Service’s reported Scope 2 emissions for internal operations in 2022, globally.[59]
  • 83 tonnes of CO2e represented Air Charter Service’s reported Scope 1 emissions for internal operations in 2022, globally.[59]
  • 0.28 tonnes of CO2 per employee was Air Charter Service’s reported emissions-intensity ratio in 2023, compared with 0.27 tonnes in 2022.[60]
  • 569 tonnes of CO2e represented Air Charter Service’s reported Scope 3 emissions for internal operations in 2022, globally.[59]

CSR in the air charter industry

  • 0.5% of charter price was the customer contribution offered by Air Charter Service for its flight-emissions offset scheme launched in February 2020.[57]
  • 928 tonnes of CO2e were Air Charter Service’s total internal-operational emissions across its reported regions in 2022.[59]
  • 156.7 tonnes of CO2 were Air Charter Service’s total Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in 2023, according to its annual report.[60]
  • Since 2007, Air Charter Service has monitored its operational CO2 output and reported offsetting it as part of its corporate-responsibility program.[60]

Carbon footprint in the air charter industry

  • 0.28 tonnes of CO2 per employee was Air Charter Service’s reported emissions intensity in 2023.[60]
  • 318 tonnes of CO2e were Air Charter Service’s reported internal-operational emissions in the Americas region in 2022.[59]
  • 294 tonnes of CO2e were Air Charter Service’s reported internal-operational emissions in the United Kingdom in 2022.[59]
  • 928 tonnes of CO2e were Air Charter Service’s reported internal-operational emissions for the February 2021–January 2022 reporting period.[59]

14 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

International travel volumes remain much larger than charter’s share, with charter passengers representing 0.5% of international travel in the year ended December 2024.

Globalization in the air charter industry

  • 256.9 million passengers traveled between the United States and the rest of the world in the year ended December 2024, while charter passengers represented 0.5% of international travel.[72]
  • Charter services accounted for 21% of international freight traffic involving the United States in the year ended December 2024.[72]
  • Air Partner operated from 18 locations across four continents before its acquisition by Wheels Up in 2022.[26]
  • Charter services accounted for 0.9% of international seats and 4.5% of international departures involving the United States in the year ended December 2024.[72]

Supplier management in the air charter industry

  • Avinode reported a global network of nearly 2,000 operators and brokers in 2023.[73]
  • Air Charter Guide covered 2,250 charter operators, 400 brokers and more than 13,800 active executive, cargo and ambulance aircraft in 2024.[74]

Distribution channels in the air charter industry

  • Air Charter Guide recorded more than 14,500 average monthly unique visitors and 105,000 monthly page views in 2023.[74]
  • Avinode processes approximately 8 million charter-trip searches and 13 million trip requests annually through its broker-operator marketplace.[75]

Key questions about the air charter industry

How large is the air charter services market in 2025?
The global air charter services market reached $32.55 billion in 2025, according to The Business Research Company.
What growth rate should we expect after 2025?
The Business Research Company forecasts growth from $32.55 billion in 2025 to $43.04 billion in 2030, a 5.9% compound annual growth rate.
Which companies lead the air charter industry?
Flexjet stands out for fractional ownership and jet-card programs because it reported $4.6 billion in combined year-end 2025 revenue and a fleet exceeding 340 aircraft, while Jet Aviation focuses on aircraft management and charter since it provides aircraft management and charter services from a global network of facilities.
Where is technology shifting in charter booking behavior?
In 2026, 76.5% of charter bookings were completed through direct consultation with a flight advisor rather than self-service technology.
How fragmented is the U.S. market structurally?
The FAA lists 1,837 Part 135 certificate holders and 11,582 authorized aircraft as of 2026, with about 550 holders, or roughly 30%, being single-pilot or single-PIC operators.
How are jet-card hourly prices expressed in 2026?
Average North American jet-card pricing was $11,426 per occupied flight hour in the first quarter of 2026, ranging from $6,729 for turboprops to $19,301 for ultra-long-range jets.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 11). Air Charter Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/air-charter-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Air Charter Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 11 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/air-charter-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Air Charter Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/air-charter-industry-statistics.

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