When Flying Private Beats Commercial: The Shutdown Effect

The government shutdown messed up flights for many. Commercial airlines saw delays and cancellations. But private jets? They had a great month. More people flew private in October than in years. Over 245, 000 private jet trips happened. That's a big jump from last year. Florida, Texas, and California were the busiest spots. Private jet companies saw a lot of new customers. Some companies had way more flights. One company even flew 20% more than last year. Another saw a huge increase in the first week of November. Private jets have some advantages. They can fly direct and avoid big crowded airports. One company didn't cancel any flights in October. They just flew to smaller airports instead. The FAA cut flights at 40 big airports. This caused over 1, 000 cancellations a day. Private jets weren't hit as hard. They mostly use smaller airports. So, they had fewer delays. But private jets aren't completely safe from the shutdown. Some airports still had crowding. It's just not as bad as commercial airports. One expert said, "You're not avoiding all the chaos, just minimizing it. " The shutdown even made some private jet flights harder. The FAA added new rules for private jets at 12 big airports. A private jet group spoke out. They said the government needs to reopen for everyone. This isn't just a shutdown thing. More people are flying private this year. It's convenient and saves time. But it's also expensive. One CEO called it an "expensive time machine. "