As a global on-demand private jet charter company headquartered in Abu Dhabi, we always follow political and macro-economic trends very closely. Regarding the recent Autumn budget in the UK, we are unsurprised to see that private jets have been targeted given the significance of tax rises across multiple sectors.
In fact, we are glad to see the UK Government investing in Green Hydrogen and Carbon Capture because in order to decarbonise aviation, a new e-SAF sector is needed, which requires these technologies.
After analysing the budget and understanding what this will mean for our UHNWI clients, we believe that ultimately the APD increase will have very little impact. 78% of Victor’s private jet charter bookings departing the UK are below 2,000 miles (i.e. within Europe), of which fewer than 1% are on aircraft weighing over 20 tonnes (the higher rate). We therefore believe the impact of the APD on the end customer will be negligible.
Below is a breakdown of the various brackets imposed by the government. It is important to note that these only apply to flights departing the UK and will only come into effect on April 1st 2026.
Below we have offered some transparent insight that showcases how pricing will be affected by the APD increase:
BAND A
Example: London, Biggin Hill – Paphos, Cyprus (Circa. 1,715 nautical miles)
On a super midsize aircraft, such as a Citation Sovereign (weighing approx. 8 tonnes), travelling one way with 3 passengers, the current on-demand price would be c.£29,000. With a £32 increase per passenger (Standard Rate), this results in an extra £96 overall – 0.33% price increase.
BAND B
Example: London, Biggin Hill – Dubai, UAE (Circa. 2,955 nautical miles)
On a heavy jet such as a Legacy 600 (weighing approx. 16 tonnes), travelling one way with 3 passengers, the current on-demand price would be c.£55,000. With a £244 increase per passenger (Standard Rate), this results in an extra £732 – 1.33% price increase.
BAND C
Biggin Hill – Kuala Lumpur (Circa. 5,500 nautical miles)
On an ultra-long-range aircraft such as a Global 7500 (over 20 tonnes) travelling one way with 3 passengers, the current on-demand price would be c. £190,000. With a £1,141 increase per passenger (Higher Rate), this results in an extra £3,423 – 1.80% price increase.
Interestingly, over the past 2.5 years, more than 500 of our clients have voluntarily chosen to pay an additional c. £1,000 on SAF in order to reduce the lifecycle carbon emissions of their jet charter bookings. Couple this with the increases we have seen post-pandemic through inflation, this suggests it is unlikely that these relatively small price increases will deter regular private jet flyers.
While the autumn budget means very marginal price increases for our clients, the other tax increases such as National Insurance, Capital Gains Tax and private school fees are likely to be of far greater concern to UHNWIs.
