Although there is a perception that private jets are only used by the rich and famous, more Australians are choosing to ditch commercial airlines and take more control over their travel.
The trend comes against a backdrop of growing discontent with the big airlines, which reported record-low performance and sky-high ticket prices throughout 2022.
Air travel this year was defined by long snaking queues at airports, mass cancellations which left passengers stranded and countless stories of lost or missing baggage.
This meant more people were looking for an alternative and found it with private charters — which carried 40 per cent more passengers this year than during pre-COVID 2019.
According to the latest data from the Department of Transport, charter operators carried 319,837 people in September 2022 compared to 226,095 people in September 2019.
For a big operator such as Air Charter Service, this translated to a 235 per cent increase in bookings.
"I think our customer base has expanded to perhaps people that had the money beforehand but never thought to branch out and travel privately," managing director Paul Crook told the ABC.
The surge in interest meant some operators had to scale up like never before.
App-based membership charter service Airly stretched to keep up with the growing demand and found 75 per cent of their customers this year were first-time private flyers.
"It's surprised us, we've had 90 per cent capacity, so we haven't been able to ramp that any further and that's a function of how many aircraft we have access to in Australia," co-founder Alexander Robinson said.
"The demand has been exponential," he said.
Another major player in the market, Navair, has seen a 100 per cent rise in bookings and had to expand their fleet and staff numbers.
Chief pilot and general manager Rick Pegus put it down to the unreliability of the major airlines.
"Everyone's got a different reason for wanting to do it but a lot of people have just had enough of the airlines," Mr Pegus said.
For one surgeon, a baggage mishap with one of the airlines which resulted in the loss of expensive medical equipment made him try charters.
For another passenger, it was frustration over mass cancellations on a day when he needed to travel to see an ill relative.
And one safety-conscious frequent flyer told the ABC he preferred private planes as he felt they were better maintained and gave him more peace of mind.
More families going private
Private company directors, property developers and senior executives in mining, oil, gas and finance are frequent users of charters for the sake of efficiency.
Travel time is more than halved when flying private as security screening isn't required and capital city "hopping" to attend several meetings in one day is common as it is near impossible without a charter.
And for some high-profile flyers, the ability to carry out confidential work on board without prying eyes is crucial.
This year has also seen the Australian movie industry bounce back in a big way which means more charter bookings for crews and equipment, according to Mr Pegus and Mr Crook.
But private travel has also become more popular with less expected demographics including families with several children (and sometimes pets) who might easily spend thousands of dollars on tickets for commercial flights depending on their destination.
One operator recently had a family who used a charter to get around the country for their annual holiday.
"The families have been more interested than we thought … we haven't really figured out if it's because of the time saving or just because it's a convenient way for the whole family to reach a destination that might not be otherwise possible without transfers," Mr Robinson said.
Group holidays for golfing, hens celebrations and proposals are also popular reasons.
"And we always have demand for places like Hamilton Island, Cairns and the Gold Coast around Christmas," Mr Crook said.
"Empty leg" services also have a loyal fanbase. They can sometimes be 75 per cent reduced as the trip is essentially a "return to base" for the aircraft after a one-way service.
But of course even this kind of luxury travel is obviously not within everyone's budget.
"We get a lot of calls where people enquire about a group getaway thinking, 'Oh, this will work out cheaply', and when they hear the price they end the call," Mr Crook said.
The new business class?
The latest figures from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) show commercial airline performance is still well below what it was pre-COVID lockdown.
Although Qantas had a major turnaround and ranked number one for on-time flights in October, their subsidiary Jetstar struggled and ranked the worst for delays and second worst for cancellations after Virgin Australia Regional.
On top of this, analysis by consumer watchdog ACCC found not only are domestic flights fuller than ever, airfares are a third higher than before the pandemic.
But the price tag hasn't matched the service, according to consumer advocacy group CHOICE.
Head of travel for CHOICE Jodi Bird said this year they had seen a huge surge in complaints, particularly from people who were unable to use credit vouchers for cancelled flights.
CHOICE are calling on the federal government to set up a travel industry ombudsman, similar to the telecommunications industry ombudsman, to hold airlines accountable.
"The airlines need to do a better job … flight arrivals and departures are at record lows and when you offset that against the prices we're paying … we deserve better service," Mr Bird said.
Some charter operators are cleverly cashing in on this moment in time and billing themselves as a more reliable version of business class that delivers more bang for buck.
It's part of their push to change people's pre-conceived ideas about flying privately and encourage them to compare the prices.
A return business class ticket for a trip from Sydney to Melbourne can often be as high as $3,196 and if a company needs more than three employees to travel, it can be comparable or even favourable to hire a charter.
A four-seater charter for the same trip normally costs around $10,000 but can be as low as around $4,000 if you're part of a membership scheme.
"That's essentially what's driving this uptick. For example, it was only 20 per cent more to go business class than economy, how many people would go business class? You'd do it every day," Mr Pegus said.
Mr Robinson said in the coming years Airly would strive to keep their rates as close to business class pricing and roll out a scheme which would allow passengers to split the cost of a jet with another Airly member, similar to Uber Pool.
While Mr Crook said more private planes would enter the Australian market next year and he's expecting it to be "extremely busy", others don't see the boom lasting.
"I think that next year it'll quiet down a little bit. Eventually the airlines will catch up and prices will come down," Mr Pegus said.
"Things can't just increase forever."
