The aviation industry is one of the attractive sectors in the world simply due to the nature of the products. Jets taking off and flying are still marvels of technology despite having been around for decades now. In fact, a little known fact about modern day aviation is that it started out as a private affair - since in its early days most people could not own an aircraft, and companies that sold seats instead of charters did not exist. The first human flight - of Dr. Hans Von Ohain - was of a private jet, and Lockheed's JetStar was the first business jet in the world and one which initially flew the company's executives, alongside others such as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, President Richard Nixon, and the Shah of Iran.
Fast forward to today, and the private jet industry continues to grow. According to a research report from Adroit Market Research, the charter flight market was estimated to be worth $48 billion in 2022 and will grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.4% between then and 2029 to sit at an estimated $51.88 billion by the end of the forecast period. This industry is dominated primarily by companies and other large organizations that choose to ferry their employees around the world without being constrained by the hassles of commercial aviation. Additionally, Adroit Market Research also adds that the world's wealthiest are starting to turn to chartered flights more as opposed to owning their own jets, due to the high costs associated with owning an aircraft.
Business Jets Market
A report from Fortune Business Insights illustrates that the business jet market was worth $25.87 billion in 2021 and will grow at a CAGR of 4.06% to sit at $38.34 billion in 2029. It explains that the market is divided into small, mid, and large sized jets, with the light and mid sized jets representing the largest chunk of the market. In terms of platform, the industry is divided into on-demand and aircraft management categories, and as a whole, the market covers propulsion systems, airframes, avionics, and software among others.
As should be evident, the operator segment is larger than the private segment of the business jet industry, and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) are expected to see stronger growth in the future as the demand for jets grows. Finally, North America is the largest continent with a market value of $9.23 billion and Asia Pacific will be the fastest growing region. Demand for business jets is booming as well, as data from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) - the aircraft industry's trade association - shows that 712 business jets were delivered in 2022 over the 710 delivered in 2021, even as the global economy battled inflation and high interest rates. In terms of value, the shipments were worth $26.8 billion, marking a 6% growth.
Today we'll look at the biggest private jet companies in the world, with the top picks being General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), Bombardier Inc. (TSE:BBD-B.TO), and Dassault Aviation Société anonyme (EPA:AM.PA).
15 Biggest Private Jet Companies in the World
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Our Methodology
In order to compile our list, we took a look at two different but interrelated segments of the market. These are the jet operators and manufacturers. For the former, since most of them are private and their revenue details are unavailable, we used total flight hours in 2022 as the ranking criteria. For the latter, their latest available 12 month revenue estimate is used, and the list starts from the operators. Finally, while Boeing and Airbus are the biggest airplane manufacturers in the world, they have not been included, since their private flying hours or private jet operations revenues are not available. We also excluded them to ensure that the list focuses more on pureplay companies.
Biggest Private Jet Companies in the World
15. PlaneSense, Inc.
Total Flight Hours In 2022: 42,907
PlaneSense, Inc. offers an aircraft sharing plan through which its members contribute to the costs of ownership and can request flights in return. The firm was set up in 1995, and it operates the PC-24 jet aircraft and the PC-12 turboprop. It is headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and has partnered up with a pilot training academy near the Portsmouth Airport to provide it with pilots. The firm likes to have five pilots per plane, and the majority of its fleet is made of propeller aircraft. Its customers are allocated time on the airplanes based on their size in the cost sharing model.
PlaneSense, Inc. meets others such as Bombardier Inc. (TSE:BBD-B.TO), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), and Dassault Aviation Société anonyme (EPA:AM.PA) on our list of the world's biggest private jet companies.
14. Solairus Aviation
Total Flight Hours In 2022: 39,687
Solairus Aviation is an aircraft management and jet charter services provider that was set up in 2009 and is headquartered in Petaluma, California. The firm operates light private jets, and it offers dozens of aircraft to its customers to let them travel all over the U.S. At the same time, Solairus also offers high net worth individual aircraft management services, through which it takes over the full operators of the aircraft and provides an option of chartering it out to reduce ownership costs.
13. FlyExclusive
Total Flight Hours In 2022: 46,707
FlyExclusive owns and operates private jets all over the world to cover regions such as North America, Asia, Europe, and others. It also offers different services, such as a membership club, fractional aircraft sharing, a partnership program to offset negative cash flow from an aircraft purchase decision, charter flights, and aircraft maintenance and repair. The firm plans to list its shares on the NYSE under the ticker EGGF and its estimated revenue for 2022 is $360 million.
12. VistaJet
Total Flight Hours In 2022: 148,094
VistaJet is one of the largest private aircraft operators in the world with more than 360 planes in its fleet. The firm operates medium sized and large jets, and carries passengers to more than 150 different countries. VistaJet is headquartered in Luqa, Malta, and was set up in 2004. It offers customers the ability to subscribe to a program or request direct flights as opposed to preplanned routes.
Wheels Up Experience Inc. (NYSE:UP) offers a variety of private aviation services, such as chartered flights and fleet management. It is based in New York, New York.
Wheels Up Experience Inc. (NYSE:UP) was one of the first firms to offer an annual membership plan to customers that provided them with hourly rates. Its trailing twelve month revenue is $1.5 billion. 14 of the 943 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's Q4 2022 survey had bought the firm's shares.
Wheels Up Experience Inc. (NYSE:UP)'s largest investor in our database is Jim Simons' Renaissance Technologies which owns 1.8 million shares worth $1.9 million.
10. Flexjet
Total Flight Hours In 2022: 178,053
Flexjet provides fractional aviation services through which customers share the costs of jet ownership and are allocated usage accordingly. It had 186 aircraft in service as of September 2022 and is based in Richmond Heights, Ohio. The firm was previously owned by one of the largest private aviation jet manufacturers in the world, Bombardier, but was bought by a private aviation investment firm in 2013. Flexjet is also known for providing customers with a customized experience, which includes unique aircraft interior design and a crew dedicated to each aircraft instead of rotating shifts.
9. NetJets Inc.
Total Flight Hours In 2022: 546,153
NetJets Inc. is another fractional aviation company but the only one in the world that is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. It is also the biggest operator of private jets in the world, with the total exceeding 600 aircraft in July 2022. It is the largest constituent of Berkshire's Service Group, which raked in roughly $18.8 billion in revenue as a whole last year.
8. Piaggio Aerospace
Latest 12 month revenue: $163 million (1EUR = 1.06USD)
Piaggio Aerospace is an Italian aircraft manufacturer that is headquartered in Genoa, Italy. It is one of the world's oldest aircraft manufacturers, having first built a plane in 1915. The firm primarily makes the P.180 line of business jets, which use turboprop engines, with hundreds of its aircraft in operation all over the world.
Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. is a Swiss company headquartered in Stans, Switzerland. The firm makes and sells the PC-21 and PC24 turboprop and jet engine business aircraft. Its revenue for the 2021 fiscal year was 1.3 billion CHF.
6. Honda Aircraft Company
Latest 12 month revenue: $2.46 billion
The Honda Aircraft Company is a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) and manufactures private jets, engines, and other products. Its primary plane is the HondaJet, and the division as a whole earned $2.46 billion in revenue for the nine months ending in December 2022.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), Honda Aircraft Company, Bombardier Inc. (TSE:BBD-B.TO), and Dassault Aviation Société anonyme (EPA:AM.PA) are some of the biggest private jet companies in the world.
