Air Charter Demand Holding Up in Most Sectors

With the exception of the light jets sector in Europe, demand for private and executive charter flights is holding up fairly well, according to the latest data from online charter portal Avinode. Demand for midsize and large-cabin jets in Europe on November 4 was, respectively, 42 and 74 points above where it had been a month earlier, based on Avinode’s forward-looking demand index, which projects anticipated demand for the next 30 days. Light jet demand was 70 points down over the same period.

In the North American market, demand for light and midsize jets was slightly up, while large-cabin jets dipped by less than one point on the index. Across the board, projected demand for all aircraft categories on both sides of the Atlantic was significantly ahead of where it had stood 12 months earlier on Nov. 4, 2012.

By contrast, Avinode’s forward-looking price index showed barely any fluctuation in projected flight-hour rates for the next 30 days across all aircraft categories in both key markets, compared with one month ago. The index showed marginal changes compared with 12 months ago.