According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), this year’s Thanksgiving holiday travel period is projected to be the busiest ever recorded for scheduled commercial flights. From Tuesday, November 26, through Monday, December 2, TSA estimates it will screen approximately 18.3 million travelers as they pass through security. This is also a 6% year-over-year increase from a similar period around Thanksgiving in 2023. Specifically, TSA expects the busiest travel day for commercial fliers to take place on Sunday, December 1st, when it predicts to screen more than three million individual passengers. Not only will there be a significant increase in commercial travelers, but the private aviation industry will most likely see a jump as well.
Related Examined: The Challenges Facing US Airports This Holiday Season A record Thanksgiving travel period followed by Christmas and New Year’s.
A recent increase in private jet travel
The private aviation industry has seen significant growth over recent years. Specifically, the industry saw a large jump in private jet operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many business executives and wealthy travelers wanted to continue to travel without worrying about social distancing. As the COVID-19 pandemic ended, many of these wealthy travelers went back to the commercial airlines. However, numerous travelers who began flying privately in recent years have continued to fly privately. Overall, private jet flight operations have increased steadily and have remained above operations recorded in 2019, which was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Flying privately gives travelers the ultimate flexibility. These travelers have the ability to take off whenever they choose, instead of relying on strictly scheduled commercial flights. Travelers can also fly direct routes from their home airport to their required destination, as long as the business jet they are utilizing has the range to reach the destination. Additionally, private jet fliers have a larger number of airports to depart from and land at. Because private jets are typically smaller than commercial airliners, private jets have the ability to land on shorter runways at smaller airports. This greatly increases the number of destinations that private jet travelers can reach.
How will the private aviation industry be affected during the holidays?
As TSA expects to see a significant increase in travelers, it makes sense that the private aviation industry also expects to see a surge in requested flights. Simple Flying spoke with Cory Bengtzen, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SkyShare, one of the leading private aviation providers based in Salt Lake City, Utah, about this increase. Bengtzen stated,
How Private Jet Travel Will Increase During The November Holidays
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