ACE 2026 - September 8th
The bimonthly news publication for aviation professionals.
Average hourly rates for guaranteed jet cards fell 1% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to Q1, according to Private Jet Card Comparisons' latest analysis of its proprietary database. Rates were up 0.4% year-on-year against Q2 2025, with North American jet card rates averaging $11,314 per hour by the end of the quarter.
Jet cards typically guarantee base hourly pricing for a minimum of 12 months, though fuel surcharges are adjusted at varying intervals and are generally applied based on the rate at the time of flight rather than at purchase. Light jets, including the Cessna Citation CJ3, Hawker 400XP and Embraer Phenom 300, ended the quarter at $8,456 per hour, down 1.2% from Q1. Ultra long-haul jets, including the Gulfstream G650 and Bombardier Global 6000 and 7500, averaged $19,202 per hour, down 0.5% from Q1.
Doug Gollan, president and editor-in-chief of Private Jet Card Comparisons, says: “Jet card rates at the end of the first quarter benefited as fuel surcharges driven by jet fuel prices dipped at the end of the quarter. Unlike the hourly rates that are often quoted by brokers, jet card rates analysed include the cost of repositioning, providing consumers a good benchmark on what they should actually expect to pay.”
Super midsize jets were the sole category to rise quarter-on-quarter, up 0.7% to $12,526 per hour. Turboprops recorded the steepest sequential decline, down 6.8% to $6,271 per hour, though they remain 31.7% above pre-COVID Q4 2019 levels. Across all categories, jet card rates stand 27.7% above Q4 2019 pricing. The database, which tracks more than 80 providers and 1,000 options across 65 variables, logged 44 updates during the quarter, down from 115 in Q1 2026.