JSSI reports 1.2% flight activity growth in 2014

The latest Jet Support Services Inc (JSSI) business aviation index has found that global business aviation flight activity increased by 1.2 per cent in 2014.

The company says that falling oil prices had a positive effect in the final few moths of the year, with quarter-on-quarter gains reaching 2.5 per cent.

Europe, the Middle East and South America saw the biggest year-on-year gains, while Africa saw experienced a double-digit decline.

Comparing the fourth quarter of 2014 with the same quarter in 2013, it was Central and Latin America that saw the biggest increase in flight activity, both achieving growth of over six per cent.

“Due to the cyclical nature of business travel, the fourth quarter is often less active than the third quarter. Therefore, it is very encouraging to see quarter over quarter growth in Central and South America,” said Neil Book, president and CEO.

Large cabin flights continued to rise during the month, with a 4.6 per cent rise across the course of the year. JSSI also included helicopters in the report for the fist time, where a 3.2 per cent year-on-year rise helped masque a 26.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter drop.

“It is a good sign to see the strong growth in the large cabin sector. This is an excellent indicator that the large corporate flight departments are using their aircraft for business all over the world. With the decline in the cost of fuel, coupled with less negative rhetoric toward the business aviation community coming out of Washington, we are very optimistic for a strong 2015,” said Book.