U.S. Bizav Flying Off To a Roaring Start This Year

Business aviation flight activity in North America jumped by 3 percent last month versus a year ago and could climb much more steeply this month, according to data released yesterday by aviation services group Argus International. In fact, the firm is projecting a 9.1-percent year-over-year increase this month and a 5-percent rise during the first quarter, compared with the same three-month period last year.

Part 91 activity was up by 4 percent last month from a year ago, while Part 135 charter activity climbed 2.5 percent and fractional flying slid by 0.2 percent. The overall retraction in the fractional market obscures decent individual gains; fractional turboprop and light and large-cabin jet flying were up 2.9 percent, 2.2 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively. Fractional midsize activity fell 2.8 percent from a year ago.

Year-over-year flying activity rose across all aircraft categories last month by 3 percent. This surge was led by turboprops and large-cabin jets, each logging a 5.3-percent gain. Light jets climbed by 1.7 percent, while midsize jet flying eked out a 0.3-percent improvement. The largest year-over-year gain for an individual segment was Part 135 large-cabin jet flying, which saw a 7.4-percent upturn last month.

Argus’s TraqPak data logs serial-number-specific aircraft arrival and departure information on all IFR flights in theU.S. and Canada.