11am on Friday: The private jet hour
Research highlights that 525 private jets take off at 11am on Fridays in Europe
PrivateFly gives five reasons why...
If you look to the skies late morning on a Friday, you’re likely to spot a private jet or two. As this is the most popular take-off time of the week with private jet travellers, according to latest research from PrivateFly. The private jet booking platform’s research reveals that an average of 525 private aircraft took off at 11am each Friday in June, from runways across Europe*.
The finding is part of PrivateFly’s latest insights, revealing the booking and flying behaviour of its private jet customers between April and June 2018.
Adam Twidell, CEO and founder of PrivateFly comments:
“While most air travellers are at the mercy of airline schedules, private fliers can choose exactly what time to take off. And 11am is the most popular take-off slot year-round, with Friday the most popular day to fly in the spring and summer months. Here’s why:
1. Avoid the rush hour
There are no two hour check-ins for private jet flights - 15 minutes is enough for most - so with an 11am departure, you can skip the worst of the morning traffic on the way to the airport.
2. Enjoy a whole afternoon at the other end
With a typical private jet flight of 1-2 hours flight time, an 11am departure still means you get a full afternoon at your destination.
3. Grab a work window (or a leisurely start) beforehand
Executives can put in a couple of hours at the office before heading to the airport or, for C-suite executives with more flexible schedules, there’s time to enjoy breakfast with their families. For special occasion or holiday flights, a 11am departure means a memorable trip doesn’t have to begin with a tiring early start.
4. Enjoy lunch in the skies
Private jet catering is a very different experience to airline food, with restaurant-quality cuisine and a bespoke menu. So many clients like to schedule their flights at 11am to allow for lunch onboard – whether that’s with clients or family.
5. That Friday feeling
The popularity of Friday this quarter demonstrates increased leisure usage for private jets in the spring and summer, with clients heading off for short breaks or to attend weekend sports or lifestyle events.”
Private Jet Charter Trends is a quarterly publication by the global private jet booking service, based on thousands of flight searches and hundreds of flights every month. Other findings from the Q2 edition include:
- HondaJet appeared in PrivateFly’s Top 10 most popular aircraft for the first time, illustrating its rising availability in Europe.
- London, Nice and Paris were the most frequently flown destinations, followed by Barcelona and Ibiza in Europe, and Las Vegas and New York in the US.
- While Fridays were busiest overall, Saturday May 26th was PrivateFly’s single busiest day of the quarter - driven by demand for travel to the Champions League Final, Cannes Film Festival and long weekends in the UK and the US.
-Ends-
*Calculation is based on WingX-Advance data for total European departures June 2018, and PrivateFly’s time and day statistics for Q2 2018.