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.