Have you ever wondered how many private jets are currently in production? How many are currently in existence? How many are in the sky right now?
Moreover, how many private jets are there in comparison with general aviation aircraft, commercial aircraft, and cargo planes?
Well, let’s take a look at the exact number of private jets currently in existence. Of course, these figures will change over time as aircraft come in and out of service.
Private Jet Models In Production
There are currently just over 30 private jet models currently in production. Note, this list does not include turboprop aircraft, only VLJs, light jets, medium jets, large jets, and VIP airliners.
The aircraft range includes single engine VLJS (the Cirrus Vision Jet), all the way up to the flagship aircraft that can easily cruise between continents and have showers and dedicated bedrooms onboard.
See the table below for a complete list of in-production private jets.
How Many Private Jets Are There?
Out of the in-production private jets mentioned above, there are just under 6,000 private jets that are currently in service.
Of course, this figure changes on a fairly regular basis as new aircraft enter service and old ones are taken out of service.
The method of collecting this data involves establishing which aircraft have been actively flying within the past 4 years.
However, if we expand the list of aircraft to include all out of production aircraft as well, we get a far larger number.
Including all out of production aircraft, there are just over 21,000 in service private jets.
This figure represents all the aircraft that are currently in service.
Of course, the total number of private jets ever produced is far larger than this. However, as with all machinery, there comes a time when it is no longer financially viable to keep aircraft airworthy. Therefore, these aircraft are retired. They are either broken down for parts or left for scrap.
For example, Elvis Presley’s JetStar was left to decay in the desert before recently being purchased again. However, given the condition and the costs involved, the chances of this aircraft becoming airworthy again are extremely slim.
In terms of putting a precise number on the number of private jets in existence, down to the very last one, it is difficult to say. Numbers are regularly changing. Collecting all the data from every aircraft registry and ensuring that every aircraft is picked up by the relevant data sources makes this an extremely tricky pursuit.
Manufacturers have exact production numbers, exact serial number sequences. However, collecting all this data that is privately held from multiple manufacturers isn’t easy. Moreover, to verify the airworthiness certificates of all of them is an equally time consuming endeavor.
Therefore, the best method is simply to log all the individual aircraft that have actively flown since 2019.
Private Jets Vs Other Aircraft
So, we know that there are approximately 21,000 private jets in active service, with just under 6,000 of them being current, in-production models.
How does this compare with other aircraft such as commercial, cargo, or general aviation aircraft?
With commercial passenger jets, the figure isn’t that much higher. However, the number of in service aircraft in the past few years has changed quite dramatically. This, naturally, is due to covid.
Aircraft were taken out of active service during the covid lockdowns, resulting in fewer aircraft in the skies. While the private aviation industry saw a boom in demand, airlines struggled.
In 2021, there were just under 24,000 commercial passenger jets in service. However, in 2022 this figure rose to just under 26,000. It is predicted that by 2032 there will be over 38,000 commercial passenger jets in service.
Compared with cargo only aircraft, private jets far outnumber them, with approximately 2,000 cargo specific aircraft currently in service.
However, the number of general aviation aircraft around the world makes these figures seem very minor.
Globally there are over 340,000 general aviation aircraft. Moreover, just over 200,000 of them are registered in the United States. Therefore, in the US alone, the general aviation fleet size is 10 times that of the number of private jets globally.
General aviation aircraft covers a wide variety of craft, such as gliders, helicopters, and single engine propeller aircraft.
