Charter prices out of Saudi Arabia have jumped more than 50%.
Houthi attacks on Saudi airports have led to more than 5,500 cancelled departures since early October, according to Cirium, and Riyadh’s King Khalid International reopened on Oct 18 after an eight-day closure. The Financial Times reported a private flight from Al-Qassim to Geneva at about €94,000, against roughly €60,000 before the disruption, with Saudi-to-Europe charters sold for up to $150,000 and trips to the UAE at $30,000 to $50,000. Victor’s co-CEO Toby Edwards said war-risk insurance can add about $20,000 for larger aircraft and $8,000 for smaller jets.
McKinsey: leisure flying and fractional ownership drive growth.
A new McKinsey report, using WingX data, says fractional fleets grew from 990 aircraft in 2019 to 1,510 in 2025, and fractional operators raised their share of business jet flight hours from 14% to 20%. Charter operators slipped from 19% to 18%, while corporate and private flight departments fell from 36% to 30%. NetJets and Flexjet accounted for 92% of fractional hours excluding turboprops.
October empty legs average 38% below full charter.
EmptyJet’s October index lists 3,824 priced empty-leg offers with a median price of $10,070, averaging 38% below a full-charter estimate where one is available. North America accounts for 86% of offers. Europe has 400 offers (10%), with a median of $8,655 and an average discount of 30%.
The used jet market slows, but supply stays tight.
JETNET’s October market barometer counts 2,806 pre-owned business jet transactions over the trailing twelve months, up just 1.8%, after 16.8% growth in 2025. Inventory is 6.6% of the fleet, against 9% to 12% in the previous decade, and aircraft 16 years or older make up 74% of listings. Large jets averaged $14.66 million in asking price, roughly back to 2019 levels.
Honda backs a new fractional program from Thrive Aviation.
Las Vegas operator Thrive Aviation showed the first refurbished HondaJet and Challenger 3500 of its fractional program at NBAA-BACE. Honda Aircraft subsidiary Arulean Air will acquire the aircraft and holds a minority stake in Thrive, which plans to add four to six HondaJets and two to four Challenger 3500s a year.
This briefing is a market summary compiled from the cited public sources. It is not investment, legal or operational advice; figures are as reported by those sources.
