Air Charter Demand Still Rising

The U.S. air charter market had a much better February this year than last, according to online charter booking portal CharterX. Flight time for midsize jets rose the most, with a 25.9-percent year-over-year increase, to 15,509 hours. Heavy-jet flight time was up 12.3 percent, to 8,610 hours, and light-jet flight time increased 11 percent, to 14,757 hours. Hourly charter rates have risen over the past year too, with the average up 5.2 percent to $3,237 for a Citation Excel; up 4.3 percent to $3,321 for a Hawker 800; and up 6.3 percent to $4,933 for a Challenger 604. In Europe, the respective prices were €2,776 (up 0.3 percent); €3,346 (up 1.6 percent); and €4,538 (up 3 percent).