Global Air Charters 2021 Recap: A Year in Review

Record Demand Fuels the Accelerated Growth of Private Jet Charter

2021 was another benchmark year for the entire private jet charter industry. Traveler demand continues to outpace the supply of available jets by a slim margin. There is still room for growth. The expansion in 2021 results from several factors, the most notable of which are COVID-19 concerns and restrictions. More people seek a private charter for both business and pleasure as they move away from airline travel’s hassle and infection risk.

How Did GAC Keep Pace with Industry Growth?

Keeping up with customer demand in heavily regulated industries like air travel is no easy task. GAC has met the challenge head-on in a few crucial ways:

Leadership

To maximize the talents of our team, we appointed our current chief pilot to the position of chief operating officer (COO). Then we selected a new chief pilot with a robust industry background. Finally, our current director of operations will remain in place.

Staffing

The shortage of qualified pilots and cabin attendants to operate our Gulfstream fleet has been a significant hurdle. We have overcome this problem by using our network and finding talent all around the United States. All of our aircraft are fully staffed due to adding exceptional team members to the crew.

Refurbishment

Our 16 passenger GIV has a brand-new exterior and interior. We also plan to fully refurbish another one of our GIVs in the coming year.

Optimized Scheduling

We offer our clients and brokers incentives to book flights in advance, which allows us to operate as efficiently as possible. The goal here is to make sure our aircraft are doing very little flying while empty. Additionally, our optimized schedule allows us to fly clients on short notice.

In-house Maintenance

We have our maintenance personnel and are in the final stages of building our facility to conduct the required aircraft maintenance of our fleet. The new facility will give our organization more direct control over routine and non-routine maintenance timelines.

Favorite Locations Around the World

We did a lot of flying this year. Despite border closures and shutdowns, we found creative ways to get people where they needed to be. While Europe was very restrictive during early 2021, we could still fly to numerous European countries. As the restrictions to enter the United States eased, we saw a surge of demand originating in places like The Netherlands, England, Norway, Sweden, and France. Travel to and from Europe accounted for roughly 27% of our flying this year.

Furthermore, the Caribbean Islands saw the most demand for travel originating in the United States and Canada. Travel to and from the Caribbean accounted for 42% of our total flight hours flown. Our clients’ favorite locations include Turks and Caicos, Cabo San Lucas, Saint Martin, and the British Virgin Islands.

Did SAF Consumption Rise in 2021?

While we do not yet have data that accurately indicates the total volume of SAF consumed globally, we know that major airlines are committed to SAF. We expect more private charter companies to offer it as the infrastructure to manufacture it becomes more cost-effective.

Cryptocurrencies Gain More Traction as a Form of Payment

If you want to charter a Gulfstream IV or V using Bitcoin, we are thrilled to offer you that flexibility. We accepted our first bitcoin payment this year and are still working out which newer cryptocurrencies we will accept. Other jet charter companies worldwide are also adopting crypto as a form of payment.

A Helping Hand in Space Exploration

Global Air Charters has also been fortunate to work with NASA this year in transporting astronauts to their launch site. We believe very strongly in what NASA and SpaceX have been working to achieve, and it has been an absolute honor to play a part in it. We are looking forward to what new advancements are in our future, as the private sector plays a more prominent role in safely delivering both personnel and equipment into earth’s orbit and beyond.

Additionally, GAC was able to lend a helping hand in moving key people to the launch site of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) this year. Getting to know the men and women working on JWST has been a true blessing for our flight crews, who look up to these incredibly bright scientists. We are eagerly looking forward to our continued role in transporting NASA astronauts, ground support, and project leaders in the coming year.