Super-rich send private jet demand soaring
DEMAND for private jets is soaring as super-rich holidaymakers spend vast sums to avoid busy travel routes and delays.
One travel firm said its millionaire clients were willing to pay up to £200,000 for a week at Europe’s most sought-after destinations.
Roland Dangerfield, who books private planes for clients including hedge fund managers and bankers, said enquiries from new customers had jumped by 150 per cent since February, after it was announced that international travel could possibly restart from May 17.
He said they were looking to fly to low-risk ‘green’ countries such as Israel, Gibraltar and Malta. Other popular destinations this summer are Spain, Greece, Portugal and Sardinia, where clients stay in luxury villas or charter yachts.
Return flights to Europe on a private jet cost between £15,000 and £ 30,000 on average, and rise to £100,000 for long-haul flights.
Mr Dangerfield, who runs Sentinel Aviation consultancy, said his clients were prepared to pay top prices to avoid lengthy queues at airports, instead flying from small private airfields such as Biggin Hill in Kent.
Passengers arriving at Heathrow f ace si x- hour queues t o pass through immigration due to Covid checks, but private jets can fly to more than 3,000 small airports, and passengers are sped through the terminal in under six minutes. Mr Dangerfield said: ‘Travelling privately, you have less exposure to other people. You’re not getting on t o an aircraft with 180 other people – you’re in your own party.’ The total average price for his clients’ holidays, including flights and VIP catering, is £50,000, but the cost can rise to ‘hundreds of thousands’.
His most expensive booking was £ 200,000 for a week- long yacht-based holiday in the Med. ‘It is a different world,’ he said.
But, he added, he faces the same challenges as the rest of the travel industry as private jets have been subject to the same restrictions as commercial airlines. ‘Enquiries are one thing, bookings are another,’ he said. ‘I am in a similar position to any other travel agent. Everyone is praying that things can come off.’