Wealthy people in Japan are turning to private jets in greater numbers as they seek to eschew crowded airports amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The push means that ANA Holdings Inc.’s private jet charter business is expecting sales of ¥1 billion in the 2022 fiscal year, Jun Katagiri, the chief executive officer of ANA Business Jet Inc., said last week. ANA Business Jet is owned jointly by ANA and trading company Sojitz Corp.

Inquiries for private charters are running at about 20 a month, up 30% on pre-pandemic levels, according to Katagiri. "This will be a new option for transportation,” he said, declining to disclose past years’ sales.