Private jet travel costs rise as fuel prices soar

As the Iran war pushes jet fuel prices higher, well-heeled travelers are facing hefty surcharges to fly private, sometimes on flights booked months prior, charter brokers and aviation insiders told CNBC.

Vimana Private Jets CEO Ameerh Naran said the firm recently booked a $520,000 flight from Dubai to London on a Boeing business jet for a client. That same trip cost the client $400,000 in 2023. The difference was entirely due to jet fuel prices — which now average about $4.65 a gallon globally — Naran said.

It’s yet another ripple in the recent disruptions to air travel.

More customers turned to private air travel during the pandemic to avoid crowds. The option remains popular and has become more important to the aviation sector as wealthier households prop up spending in travel and other sectors.

These deep-pocketed travelers are less likely to get priced out as airfares rise, but they have to navigate unexpected fees as brokers and charters differ on how they pass along fuel costs. Jet fuel prices in major U.S. cities were up more than 80% last month, according to Airlines for America, an industry group, citing Argus data.

Jet charter brokers like Vimana arrange flights with jet operators, which own the planes and buy fuel, on behalf of passengers. Naran said Vimana does not renegotiate contracts and does not reprice flights, but that charter prices have surged quickly.

He advised travelers to book sooner than later, saying any price hikes are likely to be sticky even if the Iran war ends soon.

Larger jet operators are slower to pass along fuel costs to passengers as they buy fuel in bulk and want to avoid alienating customers, according to Naran. However, operators will likely have to pay more at the pump when they replenish their supplies, and some are taking losses by not repricing flights, he said.

“There’s a long-term effect, because a lot of companies now will be making losses,” he said. “They’re not going to renegotiate the contract because they don’t want to spoil the relationship with the client, but if they’re making a loss today, they’ve got to recoup it.”

Jet charter prices have increased by 5% to 15% on average, with some rising by as much as 20%, since the Iran conflict began, according to charter broker Amalfi Jets’ database.

While some operators have raised prices on flights booked months ago and scheduled to fly in the coming weeks, Amalfi Jets CEO Kolin Jones said his company is eating the surcharges for jet card customers.

Some operators are also passing along increased war risk premiums for flights in the Gulf, though Amalfi Jets has only encountered this with three flights so far, he said. The charges added about $8,000 to $10,000 per trip, Jones said.

Gregg Brunson-Pitts of charter broker Advanced Aviation Team said that while he believes operators should honor prices for previously booked flights, repricing is a risk.

In some cases, the fees are relatively insignificant, he said, like a $1,500 surcharge for a flight from Palm Beach, Florida, to Phoenix, Arizona, on a Bombardier Challenger 300, for example. On the other hand, a round trip on a Gulfstream from the East Coast to Asia could incur $20,000 in surcharges for every dollar increase in fuel prices per gallon, he said.

Some long-haul trips have all-inclusive fuel pricing, Brunson-Pitts added.

Nearly all charter contracts include a fuel variable expense, allowing providers to charge more even if the flight was booked six months ago, according to Amanda Applegate, a partner at Soar Aviation Law.

Fractional jet owners, who share overhead costs in exchange for a set number of flight hours, typically pay an hourly rate on fuel that’s adjusted on a monthly or weekly basis. Even they may be on the hook for surcharges when fuel prices spike, Applegate said.

Private jet travelers are less price-sensitive than most flyers, and brokers told CNBC that they haven’t seen surcharges deter demand. Customers who only fly private once or twice a year for special occasions are most likely to get sticker shock, they said.

“Realistically, the individuals that are flying private, the need and want and reason of flying private does outweigh cost,” Jones said. “If you’re going to spend $25,000 on a private jet, and let’s say the cost is now $30,000, that doesn’t necessarily price people out.”

Brokers are also working to mitigate costs by refueling in countries where fuel is cheaper, even if it means additional flight time, Jones said.

So far, the business jet market is holding steady, with flights up 5% year over year in the week through March 22, according to aviation data and consultancy firm WingX.

Flexjet global CEO Andrew Collins said jet utilization by the company’s fractional aircraft owners is up 15% over last year. Clients are generally invoiced after they fly, and the company resets fuel prices toward the end of the month, taking an average of the month, he said.

Even as oil prices surge, travelers looking to avoid long lines at airports may be propping up demand for private charters.

Recent government shutdowns — a major disruption last fall and now a partial, ongoing shutdown — have left key aviation workers without pay and slowed air travel.

Most recently, that has led to hourslong lines at major U.S. airports like those serving Houston and New York as Transportation Security Administration officers called out of work while they weren’t receiving regular pay.

In the five weeks after the partial government shutdown began on Feb. 14, business jet departures increased year over year at most metropolitan airports, WingX reported.

Flexjet’s Collins said the company saw an increase in what he called “pop-up flights,” or reservations that guaranteed an aircraft within 10 hours of departure, during the recent airport chaos.

That said, Amalfi’s Jones said he has noticed some clients opting to fly on smaller aircraft to spend less.

“Some of them are very upset about that, like, ‘Hey, I used to fly on Citation Xs. Pricing is so expensive, and now I’m flying on a Hawker 800,'” Jones said. “It’s like, well, you’re still flying private. You’re going to get there maybe three minutes slower than the bigger airplane. But all in all, it’s the same kind of level of experience.”

Brunson-Pitts encouraged flyers to confirm with their broker whether they can expect a fuel surcharge or an invoice after their trip. Still, he said he expects the situation to be temporary, comparing it to oil’s rapid surge and subsequent crash from 2007 through 2008.

“This too shall pass,” he said. “That doesn’t mean it’s not painful, but the price of jet fuel rises and then it falls again.”