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UAE: Why is the demand for private jets soaring?
The sky might be the limit for most, but for wealthy globetrotters, it’s practically a second home
- PUBLISHED: Fri 9 May 2025, 9:00 PM UPDATED: Mon 2 Jun 2025, 12:21 PM
The World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2025, published by Henley & Partners in partnership with New World Wealth, recently declared Dubai as one among the top 20 cities for millionaires. The city is home to ‘81,200 millionaires and 237 centimillionaires’, and has recorded ‘102 per cent growth in the number of millionaires between 2014 and 2024’. All this, experts point out, has led to an increase in demand for private jets in the region — just last year, CNN reported that the Middle East’s private jet market was valued at $566 million (Dh2 billion), and is expected to grow to $943 million (Dh3.4 billion) by 2029, while citing advisory firm Creative Zone.
Tom Murphy, managing director — fixed-base operator (FBO), Gama Aviation, which provides operational support to private jets, describes the UAE as one of the best platforms for business jet activity, considering “the number of ultra high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals residing here, and the number of businesses relocating from Europe and other areas to start up and have their headquarters here”.
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Apart from UHNW individuals in the UAE, other sectors that use private jets include “governments, royals, media, sports celebrities and corporates”, explains Mark Hardman, CEO of RightJet, a private jet management company that is based in Dubai’s Burj Al Arab and Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace. “We’re seeing a shift in business aviation activity to the Middle East,” he explains. “There has been a lot of activity in both ownership and charter sectors — the latter primarily in Saudi Arabia and in the UAE, certainly, a mix of both.”
Another reason for this surge in interest in private jets is the Covid-19 pandemic, say experts, as people wanted to travel while limiting the number they were sharing smaller spaces with. “There was certainly a change in activity because all the traditional airlines weren’t able to operate,” explains Graham Williamson, managing director — Aircraft Management and Charter, Gama Aviation. “So, people were initially exposed to chartering and they thought this actually works because it saves time.” One of the biggest benefits of travelling in a private jet is time and it’s a real privilege to be able to spend less time travelling, he adds.
And once you’ve experienced the luxury of travelling by private jet, it’s hard to go back. Murphy recalls having a client who purchased an aircraft during the pandemic as he didn’t want to expose his elderly wife and himself to the virus while travelling. They continue to use the aircraft to this day.
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Buying a private jet
Owning a private jet is the ultimate symbol of luxury for most. It’s rarely just about transportation; it’s about exclusivity, time efficiency, and the simple fact that they can afford to create their own little outrageous bubble in the middle of nowhere.
The decision to buy a private jet depends on several factors like the client’s profile, utilisation, and budget, explains Hardman. “As a rule of thumb, if you’re flying maybe over 300 hours a year, it’s worth considering acquisition from a commercial aspect,” he explains.
It’s hard to estimate the cost of owning a private jet as there are several recurring expenses, like maintenance charges (which depends on the age of the aircraft), insurance, crew, subscriptions, management fees, fuel, handling costs, catering, and several other factors. “The operating cost of a $1 million Cessna Citation would be very different from a $135 million Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), so the cost of ownership is very, very different,” explains Hardman. “Generally speaking, the average Middle Eastern client spends in excess of $10 million on acquiring a private jet.”
New-age jet owners
Over the years, especially since Covid, private jet owners and users have gotten younger — they are now at least 10 years younger than they used to be, and are easily in their 40s, 30s, or even early 20s. They also come from newer industries like tech companies although clients from sectors like finance, manufacturing, and construction continue to dominate. “It’s now less about the big families and dynasties. Eighty per cent of our passengers are self-made,” says Matteo Atti, chief marketing officer, VistaJet. “So, they are very value conscious and their approach to luxury is very considerate.”
Although VistaJet is not involved in the sales and acquisitions of private jets, it deals with UHNW clients through its membership programme where members — who occasionally include jet owners as well — pay for the hours that they fly. Atti explains that years ago, a private jet owner or traveller would typically be a white male between 60 and 75, with decades of work experience, a big family, and so on. “But now we have seen a change in the gender composition, age composition, and, of course, nationality and origin a lot,” he explains. “And why is that? Because it follows the dynamics of the economic power in the world… When more women enter higher positions at work, and when new markets emerge as we have witnessed in the business world, demographics adapt. And I think we are one of the first industries to see that change tangibly.”
Clients in the region also have specific tastes. For instance, traditionally in the region, they prefer to buy larger jets like a Challenger 605 or Embraer Legacy aircraft, which typically cost somewhere between $10 million and $30 million. “These are what we call heavy jets,” explains Hardman. “They are all relatively large, stand-up cabins, so you have lots of space.” There could be multiple reasons for this preference. Williamson, for instance, explains that as clients have businesses all over the world — from India to London, China, and cities in the US — they tend to fly in larger, ultra-long-range aircrafts. Also, clients travel with slightly larger parties, and use their jets for both business and pleasure. “In Europe, the typical party size is two to four. In this region, it’s about six to eight,” adds Hardman.
“Quality and attention to detail is critical and important to all our customers around the world, but people here demand and expect perfection,” adds Williamson. Atti, too, points out that clients in the region expect a much higher level of service, “possibly because there is a high level of service in the Gulf tradition”. “They expect a much higher level of hospitality, which means that the relationship between the host and the guest needs to be very authentic, considerate, and honest,” he says.
Catering to requests
Williamson remembers working with a famous pop star who was on one of his last world tours. “We do get special requests for catering and the request from this particular individual’s office was for Tetley tea. So, when he came off stage, he just wanted English breakfast tea and Heinz baked beans,” he recalls.
Private jets are the epitome of ultra-luxury. There are bathrooms with showers, dining rooms, and cabins that turn into beds that one can sink into and disappear. Everything from the throws, the ceramics and the silverware are carefully selected and displayed.
“A lot of our clients have superyachts as well. So often I’ve had clients who’ve been redoing the interiors, and they’ll bring in something from their superyacht, saying, ‘I’d like the interior to look like this’, or be this colour. The carpets, leather, bedrooms — they are all highly bespoke and are all tailored individually to the client. They can cost tens, if not hundreds of millions of pounds,” says Williamson.
It tends be what we call ‘invisible luxury’, says Atti. Apart from the gorgeous aircraft, there are other tell-tale signs of luxury. “Is the pilot coming to greet you at the FBO? Is the full crew coming to meet you at the stairs, welcoming you in? It’s you going in, and every gesture is perfect. It’s all white-glove service,” he says.