Avinode: December Air Charter Demand Rises Steeply

Demand for charter flights has climbed steeply, seemingly in anticipation of the year-end holiday season, according to the latest data from online charter portal Avinode. As of December 1, the company’s forward-looking demand index for the following 30 days stood at 241.78, almost 95 points above where it had been on November 1. This was also almost 42 points higher year-over-year.

Avinode’s forward-looking price index for the 30 days from December 4 showed more modest projected increases. In Europe, the price index stood at 103.65–marginally down from November 1 and slightly up from where it had been 12 months earlier. Similarly, the U.S. index, at 100.52, was practically unchanged from both one month and one year ago.

Meanwhile, average charter flight-hour rates paid over the past six months showed decreases for three sample models in North America, ranging from 3.9 percent lower for the Hawker 800 to 6.2 percent down for the Challenger 604, with the Citation Excel down between 4.4 and 5.8 percent. In international markets, prices were largely stagnant over the same period, except for the Hawker 800, which posted an average hourly rate of €3,482 ($4,589) on December 4, practically unchanged since the average September 4 rate, but 8.5 percent above where it stood on June 4.