Press Release

Issued by Private Jet Card Comparisons.

April 3, 2025

Jet card peak days fell to their lowest level since 2020, even as the average hourly rate for fixed/capped rate jet cards increased 0.9% to $11,147 per hour, according to the latest quarterly market analysis by Private Jet Card Comparisons, the premier private aviation programme buyer's guide, .

Private Jet Card Comparisons maintains a database of over 80 jet card, membership and fractional providers with over 500 programme options. So far, in 2025, the database has been updated over 60 times to reflect pricing and policy changes.

The decrease in peak days is significant for private jet flyers. Peak days dropped to 35.4 days at the end of Q1 2025. That's down from 44.6 days at the end of 2024. It also compares to the peak of 55.7 peak days at the end of 2022.

"With peak-day booking deadlines ranging as far out as two weeks, rates not guaranteed in some cases, surcharges up to 100%, the ability to shift departures by as much as plus or minus four hours from the requested time, the reduction in peak days reflects that jet cards are becoming more competitive for flyers who need flexibility," says Doug Gollan, editor-in-chief and president of Private Jet Card Comparisons.

Gollan continues, "In 2021 and 2022, as demand for private jets surged to record levels, jet card sellers increased the number of peak days as they struggled to fulfill contractual guarantees. Adding peak days with more restrictive terms and higher rates made jet cards less attractive, partly shifting interest to fractional ownership programmes."

Still, peak days are higher than pre-Covid levels, when there were an average of 22.8 high-demand dates per year. Major fractional ownership programmes typically have around 10 peak days during a calendar year.

According to the Private Jet Card Comparisons analysis of North American jet card programmes with guaranteed availability and fixed or capped hourly rates, the average hourly rate at the end of Q1 2025 was $11,147, up 0.9%. That includes 7.5% Federal Excise Tax and current fuel surcharges as applicable.

The average hourly rate by aircraft category at the end of Q1 2025 was:

- Turboprops at $6,588 per hour, down 1.2% from Q4 2024

- Very light jets at $7,869 per hour, down 0.7%

- Light jets at $8,305 per hour, up 2.8%

- Midsize jets at $9,817 per hour, up 3.1%

- Super midsize jets at $12,510 per hour, up 1.4%

- Large cabin jets at $15,197 per hour, down 0.1%

- Ultra long-haul jets at $19,152 per hour, up 1.2%

Average hourly rates are 25.8% higher than December 2019, before Covid. The U.S. Inflation Calculator says overall inflation was up 26.0% over the same period. If it seems like jet card prices have increased more than that, your gut feeling is correct. They are 32.6% higher than at the end of 2020 when the CARES Act waived the 7.5% Federal Excise Tax.

If average prices are a sore spot, daily minimums are another positive. Daily minimums, the minimum amount clients are charged even if their flight time is less, have dipped to their lowest point since Private Jet Card Comparisons started tracking them. At just 80.8 minutes, they are now lower than in Q4 of 2020, when they were 86.2 minutes.

"The reduction in daily minimums favours private jet users who are taking shorter flights," Gollan says.

34.8% of Private Jet Card Comparisons subscribers use private aviation for time savings compared to long drives by car.

If jet card sellers are trying to hold rates, callouts are another area where they seem unwilling to return to pre-Covid rules. The average non-peak callout held steady at 65.7 hours before departure. That's where the booking deadline for contracted rates has been for the last four quarters.

Non-peak callouts are also down marginally from their 2023 peak of 69.3 hours. The window to book at contracted hourly rates is still 183.2% higher than in 2019. The average on-peak callout was 23.2 hours, with many programmes going as low as six, eight, 10 or 12 hours.

However, by requiring jet card clients to book two to three days before departure to get contracted rates, providers are giving themselves a bigger window for sourcing.