Key stats on how operators manage crew rostering, staffing pressure, and disruption in the 2026 Crew Management Benchmark Report from FL3XX and SkAI Tech.
How stretched is crew management in business aviation?
Crew rostering has never been simple in business aviation, but as fleets grow, operating models become more complex, and qualified crew remain difficult to replace, the margin for error is getting smaller.
Our new Crew Management & Business Aviation Operations 2026 Benchmark Report, created together with our friends at SkAI Tech, looks at how operators are managing that pressure today.
Some of the findings are hard to ignore.
81% of operators say their current crew headcount is stretched. They can cover the planned schedule, but there’s little room left when a pilot calls in sick, an aircraft goes AOG or the operation changes at short notice.
At the same time, 88% of operators spend meaningful time firefighting rather than simply planning ahead, while only 15% describe their current crew rostering process as “very confident.”
That pressure is showing up elsewhere too.
Three in four operators surveyed use freelance or contract crew - and despite the complexity of the job, half are still managing crew days-off and scheduling preferences through phone calls, WhatsApp, or email.
Why is crew planning so difficult?
There are several well-known reasons why business aviation crew planning is so tricky.
Operators may be managing several bases, home-based crews, fixed rotations, dynamic crew pools, and aircraft-specific qualifications at the same time. One change can affect crew availability several flights - and several days - later.
Our research found that most operators are also managing this complexity with surprisingly small teams. For fleets of up to 15 aircraft, the dedicated rostering function is typically just one to three people. That raises an important question:
How much more can manual crew planning realistically absorb?
The report explores where operators are feeling the pressure, what’s driving unplanned crew changes, how much reliance there is on freelance capacity, and where better-connected systems and AI can change the way crew planning is handled.
It also looks at real operational results being achieved through more intelligent crew management - without assuming that simply adding more people is the answer.
Benchmark your own crew operation
The interactive version of the report includes a 3-minute Crew Ops Self-Assessment.
Answer eight questions and you’ll receive a personalised score showing how your operation compares with the operators and leaders included in the research.
Want to see where your crew operation stands?