Private Jets companies thrive as airlines go bankrupt amidst Coronavirus pandemic

With commercial airlines engulfed by a maelstrom due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the private jet sector is thriving. According to reports, Global consultancy CAPA said that all major airlines are could go bankrupt by May. In an unprecedented development, the deadly virus has infected 2,27,746 people and claimed 9,303 lives across the globe. 

Richard Zaher, CEO of a US-based privet jet charter company talking to international media said that since the pandemic, frequency of emails and phone calls have surged. He added that enquiries have gone through the roof noting that his company Paramount Business jets has seen a 400 per cent rise in queries with bookings up roughly by 20-25 per cent. 

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Talking about his surge, he reportedly said that in addition to the regular private jet clients there has been a surge in the number of clients who have never flown in a private jet. Zaher added that most of the bookings were from clients who were flying into an emergency. He said that the clients either could not find commercial routes or did not want to risk them.

Costs vary hugely depending on the aircraft, region, a number of passengers and duration of the flight, a news agency reported. China, where the outbreak originated, Charter companies said the past two months had seen a “sustained increase” in new customers, as people who fled the virus in January returned in March from places now experiencing their own epidemics.

According to the charter company, clients were choosing to charter because they did not want to be confined with hundreds of people with "unknown" travel histories, and noted that private passengers usually cleared customs and immigration separate from the crowded main airport terminals. 

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Airlines technically bankrupt

Global aviation consultancy firm CAPA on March 16 took to Twitter to say that if Coronavirus infections continue then by the end of May-2020, most airlines in the world will be bankrupt. The global consultancy firm added that a coordinated government and industry action was needed to avoid the catastrophe. 

In a public statement it said that as the impact of COVID-19  and multiple government travel reactions sweep through the world, many airlines have probably “already been driven into technical bankruptcy”, or are at least substantially in breach of debt covenants.

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