Hey Georgians, notice a lot of jets in the sky?

The Citation VII, a corporate jet in an undated file photo, may one model that will be used by United Airlines to win the premium-class customers it has lost to the booming private jet market. The company is launching a unit that is poised within five years to operate 200 corporate jets seating six to 14 passengers, according to the Wall Street Journal, April 26, 2001. (Photo Courtesy of Cessna Corp/Newsmakers)

Credit: Getty Images

Credit: Getty Images

The Citation VII, a corporate jet in an undated file photo, may one model that will be used by United Airlines to win the premium-class customers it has lost to the booming private jet market. The company is launching a unit that is poised within five years to operate 200 corporate jets seating six to 14 passengers, according to the Wall Street Journal, April 26, 2001. (Photo Courtesy of Cessna Corp/Newsmakers)

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird ... it's a plane ... it's a lot of jets.

If you've noticed a few more jets in the Georgia skies this year, you're not going crazy. According to Stellar Labs—a digital marketplace for private aviation—the Peach State has seen a 3.5 percent rise in private jet departures from January to September 2016.

Compare that with the national average for the same time: an increase of only 2.6 percent.

During the first nine months of 2016, there were 44,591 private jet departures in Georgia. About 38 percent of those were empty legs, where there are no passengers on board.

The U.S., with an average of 23,470 business aircraft and 1.33 million business jet departures in 2016 so far, carries 56 percent of the global fleet.

ajc.com

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