A survey commissioned by Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) of US-based family offices who own or lease business aircraft reveals that 87 per cent are open to using them for charitable and humanitarian purposes.

The research was performed by independent research company Pureprofile who surveyed 100 senior executives at large US family offices whose organisation has on average $3.35 billion in assets under management. The research was conducted in March 2024.

In terms of how they do this, 77 per cent say they support local or national charities by providing them with some access to their aircraft, and 44 per cent say they support the Corporate Angel Network (CAN), a US-based 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organisation that helps cancer patients access the best treatment by arranging free travel on corporate aircraft. Some also provide access to their aircraft during a crisis situation such as humanitarian relief or emergency evacuations.

For those offices interviewed that don’t currently make their aircraft available for good causes, half said it was because they have not appointed anyone to manage this, and 30 per cent say it is because they don’t have enough spare capacity to start using their aircraft for this purpose. However, of those interviewed who don’t currently make their aircraft available, most say they hope to do so in the next two to three years.

Over the next three years, nine per cent of those surveyed say they expect the use of their business aircraft for good causes to increase significantly, and a further 67 per cent say they expect it to rise slightly.

A key reason for family offices using their business aircraft more for humanitarian purposes is their growing focus on philanthropy. Over the next two years, 86 per cent say they plan to increase their budget for philanthropy while 12 per cent expect a significant rise.

Some 16 per cent of those surveyed say their budgets for philanthropic causes have increased significantly over the past three years, and 47 per cent say they have risen slightly. One in five say they have stayed the same, and just 15 per cent believe they have fallen.

For those that have increased their budget for philanthropy in the past three years, 59 per cent say it has risen by between 20-30 per cent, and 19 per cent say it has increased by between 30-40 per cent.

ACJ offers a range of large business aircraft, and the recently launched ACJ TwoTwenty is carving out a whole new market segment, the Xtra Large Bizjet. It offers twice the cabin real estate compared to similarly priced ULR business jets, occupies the same parking footprint and can take off from the same airports, but its operating costs are one third less.

With a range of up to 5,650nm (more than 12 flight hours), the ACJ TwoTwenty can meet the requirements of nearly all US departures according to ACJ’s analysis of WingX data from January 2024, connecting city pairs including LA to London, Miami to Buenos Aires and New York to Istanbul.

It is capable of flying with up to a half blend of kerosene and SAF while keeping to the technical specifications of Jet A. All Airbus commercial aircraft and helicopters will be capable of operating with 100 per cent SAF by 2030.