Signature will limit special event fees from 2027.
The FBO chain’s new Signature Access programme combines handling, infrastructure and parking charges into one price based on aircraft size, time on the ramp and location, with a first-hour waiver for eligible fuel purchases at continental US sites. From 2027, event fees will apply only to a short list of events, including Super Bowl LXI, Art Basel Miami Beach, the US Open, the UN General Assembly and selected Formula 1 weekends, and will be published at least 30 days ahead. Signature says fewer than 1% of its transactions in the past 12 months carried an event fee.
European business jet flying slipped 2% last week.
WingX counted just under 10,800 European departures in the week of 19 to 25 October, down 2.0% on last year, with the year to date up 1.2%. Spain (up 3.1%), the UK (up 1.3%) and Italy (up 0.9%) grew, while Germany fell 5.5%. Paris Le Bourget stayed Europe’s busiest business aviation airport, up 6.5%, and Barcelona (up 26.2%) and Berlin Brandenburg (up 39.8%) grew sharply, while London Luton (down 8.7%) and Madrid (down 5.2%) declined. Branded charter in Europe rose 1.9%.
Fractional flying is still the only segment growing.
Globally, departures rose 0.7% year on year to just over 81,750, helped by NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas. Fractional operators were up 5.0% and 9.6% year to date, while branded charter fell 2.1% and corporate flight departments 4.6%. WingX and JETNET also counted 1,765 jets for sale, 6.9% of the fleet, the third weekly rise in a row.
Gulf charter is scarcer and dearer.
WingX reported Gulf business jet departures down 35.7% year on year last week, with Saudi Arabia down 43.9% and the UAE down 25.3%, while Turkey rose 14.9%. Speaking to CNBC, Luxe Jets CEO Alexander Graham said charter rates out of Saudi Arabia have risen from about $10,000 to as much as $15,000 per flight hour, taking a one-way trip that once cost $63,000 to as much as $100,000, and called it the new normal.
Jet2 puts an all-business-class 737 into charter service.
The Boeing 737-800, normally fitted with 189 seats, now carries 76 passengers with at least 43 inches of legroom and tailored catering. Based at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, it has flown its first charter customers and is available through the winter, aimed at sports teams, music and entertainment tours and other groups.
A charter broker’s AI assistant moves into Instagram messages.
Miami-based PrivateJet.com has made its AI assistant, Wilbur, available through direct messages on Instagram. It compares aircraft, estimates costs and gives sample quotes drawn from more than a million past quotes, but cannot book flights, which still go through a broker.
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.
