Charter flight travel at Dulles is coming off its pandemic buzz

Dulles International Airport remains among the top airports for charter jet travel. But the temporary spike in new flights prompted by the pandemic has faded.

General aviation, which represents private rather than commercial flights, is currently strong for business travel at Dulles, having recovered from the slowdown during the first year of the pandemic. That slump was mostly due to a drop in demand for face-to-face meetings.

However, the pandemic also ushered in a new client base for private aviation in the D.C. region: Well-heeled travelers who could afford first-class travel, but were reluctant to fly with their families on commercial airlines.

FlightAware, which operates a global flight tracking and data platform, noted a more than 50% increase in private jet takeoffs and landings at Dulles from December 2020 to December 2021.

“Some of the people who were interested in private charter travel during the pandemic have gone back to the scheduled service airlines a bit … so a lot of that has leveled off,” said Gregg Brunson-Pitts, founder of Arlington, Virginia-based private jet broker Advanced Aviation.

“We’ve retained most of our clients that had flown on charters pre-pandemic, but some of the interest in the industry has waned a bit,” he added.

Brunson-Pitts (a former White House Travel Office director) and his boutique firm do not own or operate aircraft, but source available aircraft and customize flights based on client needs. Charter flight travel is always more expensive than first-class commercial airline travel, but the difference is based on variables such as type of aircraft, destination and schedules, crews and amenity needs of each traveler.

Pandemic constraints that somewhat hamstrung the charter flight business during the pandemic have also eased.

“During the pandemic, due to constraints on crews and pilots, and parts availability, it was tight. There weren’t as many aircraft available for charter,” Brunson-Pitt said. “But what we’re seeing now is that there are a lot of aircraft available, so that leaves a lot more choices.”

Charter flight travel remains popular for well-heeled D.C.-area leisure travelers. The destinations are seasonal.

“During the winter months, it would be to Aspen or Jackson Hole for skiing. The Caribbean for to escape to warm weather. During the holidays, sometimes it’s New York. European travel has really come back,” Brunson-Pitts said.

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