U.S. Bizav Flying Gets 'Holiday Boost' in November

Last month, business aviation flight activity in North America received a “holiday boost,” climbing 4.8 percent year-over-year, according to TrakPak data released on Friday by Argus International. This continues the year-to-date growth trend and exceeds the company’s prediction for 3.2 percent growth last month. For this month, Argus is calling for a 5.6 percent increase over last December.

All operator categories saw solid gains, with Part 135 charter activity once again leading the pack, rising 8.6 percent from a year ago. This was followed by 4.5 percent and 2.5 percent increases in Part 91K fractional and Part 91 private flying, respectively.

Large-cabin jets reclaimed the crown in aircraft category activity last month, ascending by 6.6 percent year-over-year, according to Argus. Midsize jet flying rose by 5.6 percent, followed by turboprops (up 4.4 percent) and light jets (up 3.1 percent).

In individual categories, Part 135 turboprop and large-cabin jet flying experienced the only double-digit gains, climbing 10.4 percent and 11.8 percent year-over-year, respectively. Only large-cabin fractional activity recorded a loss, falling 4.7 percent from a year ago.

Argus’s TraqPak data provides “flight-number-specific aircraft arrival and departure information on all IFR flights in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.”