How Many Private Jets Are There?

What Percentage of Private Jets Exist?

Have you ever wondered how many private planes are being manufactured right now? How many are there at the moment? How many are there currently in the sky?

How many general aviation aircraft, commercial aircraft, and cargo planes are there in proportion to private jets?

Let’s examine the precise number of private jets that are in use now. These numbers will undoubtedly evolve as new and older aircraft enter and exit service.

Private Jet Models In Production

Just over 30 different private jet models are currently being produced. Note that only VLJs, light jets, medium jets, large jets, and VIP airliners are included on this list; turboprop aircraft are not.

The range of aircraft starts with the single-engine VLJS (the Cirrus Vision Jet) and goes all the way up to the flagship model, which has dedicated bedrooms and showers onboard and can sail between continents with ease.

For a complete list of private aircraft currently in production, see the table below.

Aircraft

Production Start

Bombardier Challenger 3500

2021

Bombardier Challenger 650

2015

Bombardier Global 5500

2019

Bombardier Global 6500

2019

Bombardier Global 7500

2018

Cessna Citation CJ3+

2014

Cessna Citation CJ4

2010

Cessna Citation Latitude

2015

Cessna Citation Longitude

2019

Cessna Citation M2

2013

Cessna Citation XLS+

2008

Cirrus Vision Jet SF50

2016

Dassault Falcon 10X

2025

Dassault Falcon 2000LXS

2014

Dassault Falcon 2000S

2013

Dassault Falcon 6X

2022

Dassault Falcon 7X

2007

Dassault Falcon 8X

2016

Dassault Falcon 900LX

2010

Embraer Phenom 100EV

2017

Embraer Phenom 300E

2018

Embraer Praetor 500

2019

Embraer Praetor 600

2019

Gulfstream G280

2012

Gulfstream G400

2025

Gulfstream G500

2018

Gulfstream G600

2019

Gulfstream G650

2012

Gulfstream G650ER

2014

Gulfstream G700

2022

Gulfstream G800

2024

HondaJet Elite S

2021

HondaJet HA-420

2015

Nextant 400XTi

2014

Nextant 604XT

2017

Pilatus PC-24

2018

What Percentage of Private Jets Exist?

There are now little under 6,000 private aeroplanes in operation out of the private jets stated above that are in production.

Naturally, this number fluctuates rather frequently as new planes are introduced to the air and older ones are retired.

To gather this information, it is necessary to identify the aircraft that have been operational throughout the last four years.

However, the number increases significantly if we include all aircraft that are no longer in production in the list of aircraft.

There are somewhat more than 21,000 private jets in use, including all out-of-production aircraft.

All of the aircraft that are currently in use are represented by this number.

Of fact, there have been much more private aircraft created overall than this. However, just like with all machinery, there comes a point where maintaining an aircraft’s airworthiness is no longer economically feasible. These aeroplanes are thus retired. They are either disassembled for parts or discarded as scrap.

For instance, Elvis Presley’s JetStar was abandoned in the desert and eventually bought back. The likelihood of this aircraft becoming airworthy again is exceedingly remote considering its condition and the associated costs.

It is challenging to determine the exact number of private jets in operation, down to the last one. The numbers are always shifting. This is a highly challenging endeavour since it requires gathering all the information from each aircraft registry and making sure that each aircraft is recognised by the appropriate data sources.

Manufacturers have precise serial numbers and production numbers. It is difficult to gather all of this privately held data from many firms, though. Moreover, to verify the airworthiness certificates of all of them is an equally time consuming endeavor.

Thus, the simplest approach is to simply list each individual aircraft that has been actively flying since 2019.

Private Jets Vs Other Aircraft

As a result, we are aware that there are over 21,000 private planes in use today, with just about 6,000 of them being brand-new, in-production models.

How does this compare to other types of aircraft, such as general aviation, cargo, or commercial aircraft?

The figure with commercial passenger jets isn’t all that higher. However, there has been a significant change in the number of aircraft in service over the last few years. Naturally, covid is to blame for this.

During the COVID lockdowns, aircraft were removed from active service, reducing the number of aircraft in the sky. Airlines struggled as the private aviation sector experienced a rise in demand.

Just under 24,000 commercial passenger planes were in operation in 2021. However, this number increased to little about 26,000 in 2022. By 2032, it is anticipated that over 38,000 commercial passenger planes would be in use.

With almost 2,000 cargo-specific aircraft now in service, private jets vastly outnumber cargo-only aircraft.

These figures appear extremely little, nevertheless, when compared to the total number of general aviation aircraft in the world.

Over 340,000 general aviation aircraft exist worldwide. Additionally, a little over 200,000 of them are registered in the US. As a result, the general aviation fleet size in the US alone is ten times more than the total number of private aircraft in the world.

The term “general aviation aircraft” refers to a broad range of aircraft, including single-engine propeller aircraft, helicopters, and gliders.

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