Family offices in the US prepare to upgrade their business aircraft, research reveals

A survey* of US-based family offices that own or lease business aircraft reveals that 93% expect to upgrade to better or newer models within the next five years.

The study, commissioned by Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ), reveals that 75% cite a growing focus on operational costs as a reason for wanting to upgrade their business aircraft, followed by 73% who say it is because newer, more fuel-efficient models have been launched.

Other reasons cited for wanting to upgrade include the need for larger aircraft as more family members and staff are using business aviation, and the need for larger aircraft with greater range.

Of those US family offices surveyed that charter business aircraft, 87% say they are focusing more on chartering newer, more efficient jets to help reduce the impact of their flights on the environment.

SAF currently has a price premium compared to standard jet fuel, but 97% of US family offices interviewed say they would be prepared to increase their travel budget for business aviation to enable their flights to use SAF more. Just over two-thirds (68%) say they would be prepared to increase their budget by over 25% to ensure they could make more use of SAF or newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft, and 31% say they would be prepared to increase it by at least 50%.

When asked why they expect their family office to make greater use of business aviation, 80% say it is because of a greater focus on the well-being of family members and staff, and this is followed by 56% who cite greater technology onboard aircraft and 44% who say an improving sustainability record of the business aviation sector.

ACJ offers a range of large business aircraft. The recently launched ACJ TwoTwenty is carving out a whole new market segment - ‘The Xtra Large Bizjet’.

ACJ TwoTwenty

The ACJ TwoTwenty offers twice the cabin real estate compared to similarly priced ULR business jets with market-leading fuel efficiency and unrivaled reliability. It occupies the same parking footprint as competitive ULR jets and can take off from the same airports, but the ACJ TwoTwenty operating costs are one-third less.

With a range of up to 5,650 nm (more than 12 flight hours), the ACJ TwoTwenty can meet the requirements of 99.9% of all US departures**, connecting city pairs including Los Angeles to London, Miami to Buenos Aires, and New York to Istanbul.

As with all ACJ aircraft, the ACJ TwoTwenty is capable of flying with up to a 50% blend of kerosene and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) while keeping to the technical specifications of Jet A. All Airbus commercial aircraft and helicopters will be capable of operating with 100% SAF by 2030. This capability will play an important role in the sector’s decarbonization journey.

Over 200 Airbus corporate jets are in service worldwide.

* Airbus Corporate Jets commissioned the independent research company Pureprofile to survey 100 senior executives at large US family offices whose organization has on average $3.35 billion in assets under management. The research was conducted in March 2024.

** Airbus Corporate Jets analysis of WingX data, January 2024.

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 3rd July 2025 | Issue #802