By the numbers: Private jet summer arrivals in Spain
In this report, we provide a snapshot of private jet arrival trends during June, July, and August in the highly competitive Spanish private aviation market.
While it’s no surprise that private jet demand has globally plateaued in comparison to the early stages of 2022, this summer positioned Spain as one of the top destination countries for private jets in Europe.
Almost 21,000 flights arrived in Spain between June and August 2022, which represents a 9% increase versus the previous year in the same time span, with a peak during the first two Fridays of July. This comes as a surprise considering recent history has positioned August as the top month in arrivals.
In terms of regional share, 64% of private jet arrivals in Spain are international, with 96% of those movements coming from Europe. The 36% of domestic flights are led specifically by three city pairs: Mallorca – Ibiza, Ibiza – Mallorca, and Barcelona – Ibiza.
Most international arriving flights during summer came from France, the U.K., and Italy, while the top arrival cities were Ibiza, Madrid, Mallorca, and Barcelona, as recent data from WingX demonstrates.
In terms of international city pairs, most flights arrive from London, with Ibiza, Mallorca, and Malaga as the top three arrival destinations from the U.K.’s capital.
Lastly, it might be an understatement to say that Europe’s geography plays in favor of the light jet market. With short distances between almost every major city, especially in the western portion of the continent, light jets are the most convenient option to fly private. In fact, 46% of all arrivals in Spain were operated using a light jet, with the Embraer Phenom 300, the Cessna Citation CJ2, and Citation Mustang as the top chartered aircraft in the segment.
In a nutshell
Martin Baldoma Jones, Welojets cofounder and CEO, on the country’s surging private jet market:
While Madrid is Spain’s business hub, international leisure travel is the main demand driver for this industry. Called business aviation for a reason, the traits that define this segment on the corporate side also provide incalculable value to passengers traveling for leisure purposes, with unparalleled flexibility and the possibility to land in remote locations as the top qualities.
The country’s destination diversity and unique combination of business and leisure have positioned Spain within the top three private aviation hubs alongside England and France, while having the Balearic Islands just a few hours away from top business aviation hubs like Paris, London, Milan, Madrid, and Nice. This secures a steady yearlong demand that allows private jet providers to plan accordingly and offer great service while also ensuring revenue certainty.