LAS VEGAS —Business travel by private aviation has rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic, says aircraft charter and jet-card provider Magellan Jets, which expects to see continued growth in jet cards into 2024.
Magellan, based in Quincy, Massachusetts, says sales of new jet cards this year are up 25% over 2022, a year that saw jet card sales increase by 30%. The company is also experiencing a near-90% renewal rate.
Anthony Tivnan, Magellan Jets founder and president, says business flyers, not the leisure flyers and new entrants to private aviation that bolstered the industry during the pandemic, are driving the growth.
“I think the new flyers have since slowed down a bit,” Tivnan told ShowNews Oct. 16. “Between 2021-22, aircraft rates have risen 30-40%, so I think that’s kind of slowed them down a little bit. Where we’re seeing our growth is from the corporate space, business flyers.”
Tivnan elaborated: “Back in 2021 and 2022, business really slowed—everybody went to Zoom, not wanting to do meetings in person, not wanting to send executives to multiple locations. There was a huge shift to leisure travel, but we’ve seen that slow down. We’re seeing the opposite behavior on the corporate side of our business. Corporations are getting back to business travel and our business model makes that very flexible and efficient to do that.”
A privately-owned company based on an “asset light” business model, Magellan Jets contends that its flexible terms for scheduling capacity and carrying over hours to the following year makes it an attractive solution for corporate travel.
Underpinning its growth plans, Magellan Jets earlier this month acquired Stellar Labs, developer of an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered software platform that will streamline the jet card and charter flight quoting process. The company plans to operate Stellar Labs as an independent provider of services to its Preferred Network of aviation partners while also using its leading AI technology to power the upcoming relaunch of its mobile app and website.
Magellan Jets also launched a new aircraft sales and management division, moved into new corporate headquarters and opened a private jet terminal for customers at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts, during 2022.
