September flights up for 2017

US Business jet activity is continuing its upwards trajectory. ARGUS US flight data shows a 5.2% increase in business jet flights year-on-year for September.

This is the second month of at least 5% year-on-year growth so far this year.

Part 135 (commercial charter) activity saw the biggest increase in September, with an 11.8% jump compared to 2016. Fractional flights are up 3.6% and Part 91 (private non-commercial) activity is up 1%.

All business jet categories were up across the board. Large jet flights saw the largest increase in activity with a 7.2% jump year-on-year. Mid-size jets saw 5.7% more flights, light jets 4.9% and Turbo Props 4.1%.

The only activity that is down year-on-year is Part 91 Turboprop operations, which are down 0.2%, and fractional large jet ownership, which is down 4.3%.

Monthly activity

September 2017 figures are in line with August’s activity, seeing a 0.1% drop off in activity month over month.

Fractional activity is down across the board for all business aircraft categories. Part 135 operations are up, with mid and large jets seeing increases of 6.5% and 11.1% respectively, while turboprop operations are down 2.5% compared to August.

Part 91 activity saw no change in activity in September and August. Turboprop and mid-size jets saw a small drop-off and light and large jet activity increased.

TRAQPak statistics predict a further 5% increase in activity in overall flight activity year-on-year this month compared to October last year.

Breaking down the figures by region, the southeastern states continue to be the dominant market with 55,847 business jet departures last month. North central states saw the second highest activity, closely followed by east central, southern and western states.