Prince Harry’s Shaming Is Bad News for Private Jets
The reaction against green campaigners who use corporate jets is a problem for the industry. Electric and hybrid models may be an answer one day.
The “Carbon Footprince.”
Photographer: Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson CollectionGiven the swelling ranks of the world’s billionaires, you’d have thought the past 10 years would have been fabulous for private jet suppliers.
In reality, the period since the great recession has been a “lost decade” for the industry’s manufacturers, analysts say. A glut of second-hand aircraft sapped demand for new models, while shared ownership and renting became popular alternatives to buying a plane outright. Meanwhile, large corporations that once thought nothing of jetting their execs around in comfort started scrutinizing budgets and worrying about conspicuous excess. In 2017 General Electric Co. said it would sell its fleet after unflattering reports about its former boss, Jeff “two planes” Immelt.