Global business aircraft flight activity in August 2024 saw a 1.4% year-over-year increase, despite declines in key markets such as North America and Europe, according to TraqPak data from Argus International. While North American flying decreased by 2.4% and European activity dropped by 3.1%, other regions surged, with a remarkable 37.9% growth in flight activity globally.
In North America, flight activity decreased across all aircraft segments, with large-cabin jets taking the biggest hit, down 9.3% from last year. Smaller declines were seen in turboprops (-1.5%), light jets (-1.4%), and midsize jets (-0.9%). Fractional flying was a bright spot, recording an 8.6% gain, while Part 91 and Part 135/charter activity dropped 5.5% and 3.3%, respectively.
Europe experienced a mixed performance by aircraft category. Light and midsize jets saw slight increases of 0.6% and 1.6%, respectively, while turboprops plummeted by 12.1%, and large-cabin jets fell by 3%. Outside of North America and Europe, business aviation boomed, with turboprops up by 61.1%, midsize jets increasing by 30.9%, light jets up 27.6%, and large-cabin jets growing by 8.4%.
“Globally speaking, activity improved in August, but breaking down the regions, we saw a larger decline than we expected in North America, primarily driven by decreases in the large-cabin jet and Part 91 markets,” said Argus senior vice president of software Travis Kuhn. “Across the pond, Europe remains down while other regions of the globe grew by 37.9% in August, highlighting growing demand for private aircraft around the world.”
Forecasts for September indicate a further decline, with North American flight activity expected to fall by 3.6% and European activity to drop by 4.5%.
