SpaceX and AI startup wealth fuels demand for private jets

A private jet taxis after landing at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Thursday, May 7, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

NEW YORK/MONTREAL -- Aviation lawyer Amanda Applegate skipped her annual vacation last month as a surge of wealth from AI startups and SpaceX sent a wave of tech investors shopping for private jets, burying her in paperwork for aircraft-purchase agreements.

The Cleveland-based attorney attributed the rush to a handful of major “liquidity events” in the tech industry.

The IPO of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, whose holdings include artificial-intelligence firm xAI, raised a record US$85.7 billion for the company and generated unprecedented employee and founder wealth. Next in line for potential big IPOs are AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI.

Venture capitalists, board directors and early employees of SpaceX and other AI companies, along with bankers shepherding anticipated IPOs, are channelling fresh wealth into private aviation, turning it into an early beneficiary of the AI boom. Reuters reported last month that luxury travel companies are increasingly targeting tech entrepreneurs, reflecting expectations that the sector will spawn a new cohort of billionaires.

“I think there are many more people who can afford to travel privately, and that number seems to grow daily,” Applegate said. So far this year, business at her company, Soar Aviation Law, which handles aircraft purchases and agreements, has jumped 25 per cent.

For many, private aviation starts with a membership or shared-ownership program before progressing to aircraft ownership. Data from aviation intelligence firm Jetnet shows that flights through shared-ownership programs rose 11.8 per cent globally in the first five months of 2026, compared with the same period in 2025.

Flights operated by private jet owners climbed 13.4 per cent, underscoring broad demand as frustrations with commercial travel mount. In North America, the industry’s largest market, the increase suggests both established owners taking to the skies more often and newly wealthy buyers making the leap into aircraft ownership.

The money is coming

The spending spree reflects a familiar pattern. Historically, major wealth-creation events — stock market booms, IPOs, mergers — have translated into higher demand for private aviation. Business jet deliveries rose 24 per cent during the dotcom boom, according to Jetnet.

This time, the frenzy coincides with excitement around SpaceX, whose market valuation is about $2 trillion, and expectations that OpenAI and Anthropic could eventually follow with massive stock debuts.

Private aviation company Flexjet, which offers fractional jet ownership, leasing and memberships that allow customers to prepay for flight hours to fly on demand, has noticed a change. “Self-made first-generation wealth, like those set to benefit from these tech IPOs, is resulting in a Flexjet customer base that is younger,” said D.J. Hanlon, executive vice president of sales at Cleveland-based Flexjet.

Even before these listings materialize, soaring private-market valuations have left many investors treating future payouts as increasingly certain, prompting some to make large purchases ahead of liquidity events.

“The past six to 10 months, I’ve had a handful of guys that are involved in SpaceX with money burning a hole in their pocket,” said a California aircraft broker who requested anonymity because of client relationships.

A decade ago, technology clients accounted for roughly one-fifth of his business. Today, they represent about three-quarters and are snapping up scarce new, luxury aircraft inventory fast, the broker said, adding, “I have sold planes last year that I could sell for 10 per cent to 15 per cent more today.”

The ultra-rich population is projected to accelerate through 2028, Jetnet said, reflecting the immediate impact of AI windfalls. San Francisco, home to Anthropic and OpenAI, recorded the fastest growth in business-jet flights among major U.S. cities, with traffic up about 11 per cent year-over-year through June 14, according to WINGX, a Jetnet company.

Business jet traffic near Brownsville, Texas, near SpaceX’s launch site, spiked 177 per cent to 97 flights during the company’s IPO window, WINGX said.

Private aviation’s entry-level boom

Jet Linx, which offers aircraft management and jet-card memberships, said its business was up 60 per cent year-to-date through May. The company reported especially strong growth in Texas, where jet-card membership sales — which start with a one-time membership fee of $17,500 or an upfront deposit of $250,000 — rose sharply in San Antonio, Dallas and Austin, Texas.

“We frankly knew that we would do better year-over-year, but these numbers are far ahead of the expectations we had going into 2026,” Jet Linx CEO Jamie Walker said.

Charter company Mercury Jets said demand from technology-sector executives has grown by double digits since the start of the year. Following the SpaceX IPO, the company also began receiving inquiries from people who had never flown privately before, said Director of Charter Sales Ryan DeBruyne.

Hourly charter costs can range from roughly $1,500 to $18,500, while buying a jet can cost anywhere from $6 million to $70 million, depending on the model.

“People are starting to spend their money because they know it’s coming,” the California broker said. “I’ve had probably three clients related to SpaceX that are saying, ‘Let’s find something.’”

Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Matthew Lewis, Reuters