While private jet demand has plateaued globally in comparison to the early stages of 2022, this summer has positioned Spain as one of the top destination countries for private jets in Europe, according to Welojets, the private jet charter booking platform based in Madrid.

Almost 21,000 flights arrived in Spain between June and August 2022, which represents a 9% increase versus the previous year in the same time span, with a peak during the first two Fridays of July. This comes as a surprise considering recent history has positioned August as the top month in arrivals.

In terms of regional share, 64% of private jet arrivals in Spain are international, with 96% of those movements coming from Europe. The 36% of domestic flights are led specifically by three city pairs: Mallorca - Ibiza, Ibiza - Mallorca and Barcelona - Ibiza. Most international arriving flights during summer came from France, the U.K. and Italy, while the top arrival cities were Ibiza, Madrid, Mallorca and Barcelona, as recent data from WingX demonstrates.

In terms of international city pairs, most flights arrive from London, with Ibiza, Mallorca and Malaga as the top three arrival destinations from the U.K.'s capital.

Europe's geography plays in favour of the light jet market, says Welojets: "With short distances between almost every major city, especially in the western portion of the continent, light jets are the most convenient option to fly private. In fact, 46% of all arrivals in Spain were operated using a light jet, with the Embraer Phenom 300, the Cessna Citation CJ2, and Citation Mustang as the top chartered aircraft in the segment."

Martin Baldoma Jones, Welojets cofounder and CEO, comments: "While Madrid is Spain's business hub, international leisure travel is the main demand driver for this industry. Called business aviation for a reason, the traits that define this segment on the corporate side also provide incalculable value to passengers travelling for leisure purposes, with unparalleled flexibility and the possibility to land in remote locations as the top qualities.

"The country's destination diversity and unique combination of business and leisure have positioned Spain within the top three private aviation hubs alongside the U.K. and France, while having the Balearic Islands just a few hours away from top business aviation hubs like Paris, London, Milan, Madrid and Nice. This secures a steady yearlong demand that allows private jet providers to plan accordingly and offer great service while also ensuring revenue certainty."

Welojets has recently joined The Air Charter Association. For Alfedo Lisdero, Welojets' co-founder and CEO, “becoming a member of ACA is a huge milestone for our clients and staff, while demonstrating we are committed to continue delivering a superior service to all our globally distributed stakeholders. We envision working alongside The ACA to create a safer and more reliable business aviation charter market in Spain and Europe.”

The Air Charter Association CEO, Glenn Hogben, is excited with this new development. “As ACA envisions to strengthen and expand its network in highly competitive markets, the addition of Welojets is a key step to broaden the international recognition and highest service standards that our members deliver worldwide.”

Welojets, which is ARGUS-registered, also has offices in Miami, Florida and Buenos Aires, Argentina, and offers a charter pool of more than 7,000 aircraft on its platform, working exclusively with certified operators worldwide to assure that only airworthy aircraft are supplied to the end user. With almost 70% of all flight requests coming from Europe, the company's main arrival destinations in the continent during 2022 are Ibiza, Madrid, Nice and London.