World Cup demand pushes price of private jet charters up 30 per cent

The price of chartering a private jet between some US cities has surged by up to 30 per cent due to “exceptionally strong demand” during the World Cup.

Corporate groups, wealthy football fans and syndicates of supporters travelling together have turned to private charters in increasing numbers to navigate the biggest and most geographically dispersed World Cup ever, which concludes in New Jersey on Sunday.

Among the most popular trips have been from Miami, the scene of England’s quarter-final win, to Atlanta for their semi-final against Argentina, and Atlanta to New York for the final.

“Business aviation activity has risen significantly during the tournament, while demand on certain key routes has reached up to three times normal levels during the knockout stages,” Atlas Jet Charter co-founder Connor Millar told City AM. 

“Enquiries and confirmed bookings have increased substantially as the tournament reaches its final stages.

“Another notable trend has been pricing. We’ve seen charter rates increase by approximately 20–30 per cent on many of the busiest host-city routes compared with typical market conditions. 

“This is being driven by exceptionally strong demand, limited aircraft availability, repositioning costs, airport slot restrictions and additional event-related operating fees.”

While World Cup visitors have been content to fly commercial to North America, they have turned to private jets for greater ease and convenience in covering long distances between matches. Other popular routes have been from Miami, Dallas, LA, Toronto and Mexico City to New York ahead of the final.

“We’re expecting demand to remain exceptionally strong through to the conclusion of the tournament,” Millar added.

“The combination of increased domestic travel between host cities, limited aircraft availability and operational restrictions at key airports has created one of the busiest periods we’ve seen for private aviation around a major sporting event.”

Non-World Cup private jet charters also affected

Heightened demand has had knock-on effects, such as airports charging higher fees and restricted availability of non-World Cup-related private jet charters. 

“The concentration of demand around cities such as New York, Atlanta and Miami has also meant that pricing on many domestic US routes has reached – and sometimes exceeded – the capped hourly rates available through our Jet Membership programme,” Millar said. 

“This is a clear indication of how constrained aircraft availability has become during the tournament’s closing stages, particularly on the busiest host-city routes.

“We’re also seeing the wider charter market affected beyond World Cup-related travel itself. As operators position aircraft into the major tournament hubs to meet demand, fewer aircraft are available for routine charter requests elsewhere across the United States. 

“This has resulted in longer repositioning sectors, reduced availability on non-World Cup routes and increased pricing for clients whose travel isn’t directly related to the tournament.”