Demand for private jets on the rise

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Some top executives of the country’s biggest conglomerates are renting private jets for about P850,000 an hour to fly to Singapore, Hong Kong and other Asian destinations for their business engagements, according to aviation company VistaJet, noting that demand for such expensive services has been growing steadily.

The global business jet service provider, in an interview with the Inquirer, said its Filipino clients flew more frequently last year amid the sustained momentum for business travels.

“Our clients in the Philippines continue to increase the number of flights they are doing each year. In the past year, we’ve seen a 2-percent increase in total flight hours and a 3-percent increase in total flight numbers,” it noted.

The top destinations for these private flights, which cost $15,000 an hour, are Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Seoul.

A flight between Manila and Singapore is about four hours. This means the chartered flight may cost $60,000, or P3.4 million, for a one-way trip.

“Our clients in the Philippines primarily consist of large conglomerates with significant business interests both domestically and internationally. These companies require business jets to transport their top executives for essential business meetings and engagements,” VistaJet noted.

VistaJet sees the potential of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, as a growth market for business jet services—or the segment of the aviation sector that caters to private flights.

“With the Philippines being an under-served market in terms of commercial aviation, we see potential in filling this void through providing non-stop flights to Europe and North America,” the company said.

“Currently no Philippine carriers operate non-stop to Europe, which means Filipino business executives that fly commercial need to do a stop in places like the Middle East, which is time-consuming and inconvenient,” it added. Flag carrier Philippine Airlines is still studying its relaunch of the European network, identifying Italy, Paris and Brussels as potential routes.

Apart from international destinations, boutique airline Sunlight Air previously shared that private flights to local islands like Siargao and Coron have been gaining traction as well among Filipinos.

Sunlight Air operates, on average, two private flights per month. A chartered flight costs P203,000 per hour.

Moving forward, VistaJet is optimistic for the business aviation market because of “economic prosperity, infrastructure enhancements and rising demand from high-net-worth individuals and corporations.”

“Additionally, in Southeast Asia, the region’s status as a popular tourist destination has contributed to the demand for luxury travel experiences,” it noted.