We’re cruising 35,000 feet over the French Riviera, the plane’s wing cutting through billows of white. Below us, the sea is sparkling, and I spot a cluster of yachts anchored along the coastline. A ray of light hits my glass of Champagne and turns it to liquid gold. I take another sip. So this is what it feels like to be on cloud nine.
I’m flying from London to St. Tropez with the private aviation company Wheels Up, and for the first time in my life, I don’t want a flight to end. Once you’ve gotten a taste of the private jet lifestyle, it becomes easy to understand why wealthy travelers are so taken with it—despite the hefty price tag and contentious carbon footprint.
But, as Leona Qi, president of Vista US, a private aviation company that owns VistaJet and XO, tells me, a large group of private jet travelers are not, in fact, ordering Champagne and caviar on their way to the South of France. Instead, they’re more likely to be taking board meetings en route to the Midwest for a multi-million dollar IPO deal.
For today’s business travelers—whether we’re talking C-suite execs or Taylor Swift—the appeal of flying private lies in its efficiency, more so than luxury. Without being constrained by commercial flight routes and airports, you can “visit three cities in a day and come back home to sleep in your own bed, and the next day you can present to the board or to your executive team,” says Qi.
With the return of in-person meetings and office mandates, more business travelers and corporate clients are seeking out private aviation solutions. ILLUSTRATION: Alex Green
Private aviation’s first post-Covid boom mainly included leisure travelers who transitioned away from commercial airlines during the pandemic for reasons of health, explains George Mattson, CEO of Wheels Up. “You had a bunch of new people in private aviation,” he says. “And once you try it, you generally don't want to stop.” Despite that, because of the rise of remote work, business travel remained below pre-pandemic levels.