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Private Jet Rental for Pets Is Booming, and Not Among the Rich

A piece of news like this might have seemed incredibly strange pre-2020 but, now that we’ve been living through this interminable health crisis for two years with no clear end in sight, not so much. Pet travel by private charter is soaring, a new report says.
Demand for charter jets for pets is soaring in Hong Kong, as owners are desperate to get their pets out of the region 10 photos
Photo: Unsplash.com / Tanner Crockett
The Explorer concept is a private jet inspired by superyacht explorers, insane but totally doable - for $100 millionThe Explorer concept is a private jet inspired by superyacht explorers, insane but totally doable - for $100 millionThe Explorer concept is a private jet inspired by superyacht explorers, insane but totally doable - for $100 millionThe Explorer concept is a private jet inspired by superyacht explorers, insane but totally doable - for $100 millionThe Explorer concept is a private jet inspired by superyacht explorers, insane but totally doable - for $100 millionThe Explorer concept is a private jet inspired by superyacht explorers, insane but totally doable - for $100 millionThe Explorer concept is a private jet inspired by superyacht explorers, insane but totally doable - for $100 millionThe Explorer concept is a private jet inspired by superyacht explorers, insane but totally doable - for $100 millionThe Explorer concept is a private jet inspired by superyacht explorers, insane but totally doable - for $100 million
The aviation industry was among the hardest hit by the effects of the international health crisis, including travel restrictions and strict regulations that have discouraged air travel for leisure. While common folk has seen themselves limited to other means of transport on the ground, which would not take them beyond their country’s borders, the rich have continued to travel by air, perhaps more so than before. Private charter is the only segment to report a significant boom since 2020.

Add another win for the same segment, but this time, it’s not for people. Pet travel is soaring, CNN says, especially in hubs like Hong Kong. Put it simply, people are chartering jets to see their pets flying out of the city. The issue is more complex than just “a bunch of rich people paying to see their pampered pets fly out because the region has been under strict travel restrictions for a very long time. Longtime residents are moving out, and they must make arrangements for their pets to fly out and join them at their future homes.

It’s not just rich people, either: the report notes that working- and middle-class people are pooling resources to charter jets for their “furry children,” with tickets selling for upwards of $20,000 for one pet and a human companion. In a context in which there are few to no domestic flights, getting a pet out of the city is an impossible dream unless you go private.

CNN says that several private aviation companies have reoriented since the start of the health crisis and are now operating as pet-travel companies exclusively. Top Stars Air, for one, reports a 700% boom in demand for charter jets for pets, whether they’re cats and dogs or more unusual pets like birds, turtles, hamsters, and rabbits.

“In terms of business, it has been a huge positive,” Olga Radlynska, founder and director of the airline company, says. “But at the same time it is devastating to see people that are basically evacuating Hong Kong with their pets. And they want to leave yesterday.”
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Editor's note: Photos in the gallery show the Explorer flying superyacht by Lufthansa Technik, a concept designed for humans.

About the author: Elena Gorgan
Elena Gorgan profile photo

Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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