With TSA in shambles, many fliers are turning to private aviation to get to their destination.
Private-jet companies have seen an uptick in bookings since the partial government shutdown began in February, causing airport security wait times to balloon into an hours-long debacle. To avoid the lines, customers (including first-time private fliers) are now coughing up large sums to avoid TSA altogether, sometimes to the tune of $34,000, Bloomberg reported.
Hubs in Baltimore and New Orleans are particular hot spots for private-jet bookings as of late. The Maryland metropolis had a 10 percent increase in private-jet departures from February 14 to March 22, according to date from business aviation analysis firm WingX; the Big Easy, meanwhile, saw 11 percent more private planes hit the skies in the same period. Other locations, such as New York’s LaGuardia and JFK, had a 2 percent boost, and Atlanta and Houston both experienced a 5 percent increase in the same time frame.
Private jet charter company Jettly (which has an app that lets you book flights in as little as 30 seconds) can attest to the increased amount of private fliers. Overall, the brand has seen a 39 percent jump in reservations since February, with first-timer users traveling out of Houston, Atlanta, and New Orleans jumping by 52 percent. Plus, Jettly has seen a 34 percent swell of reservations made within 72 hours of take-off. As far as pricing goes, that’s all dependent on the plane’s size, destination, and demand: Jettly CEO Justin Crabbe told Bloomberg that a spot in a six-seat plane can start at $7,000, with prices continuing to climb north as flight times to and from popular travel hubs increase, too. A short flight from New York City, for example, is priced from $13,000, with longer journeys from the Big Apple to Houston could hit that $34,000 mark.
All the hullabaloo in airports, including massive delays and TSA employees going without pay, doesn’t have an immediate end in sight. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to compensate TSA employees to mitigate the chaos, but the U.S. government has still yet to pass a bill that will end the shutdown. For now, though, it seems soon fliers will keep looking to private aviation for their travel needs.
Authors
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Nicole Hoey
Digital Editor
Nicole Hoey is Robb Report’s digital editor. While studying at Boston University, she read, wrote and read some more as an English and journalism major. A class taught by a Boston Globe copy editor…


