North American Bizav Flying Continues Covid Recovery

Business aircraft activity last month in the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean was off by 21.2 percent year-over-year as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to weigh on air travel, according to TraqPak data released yesterday by Argus International. However, analysts at the company are optimistic about continued recovery this month, predicting just a 14 percent decrease in flying versus September 2020.

Results by operational category were all in the red, with Part 91 activity once again posting the largest decrease last month, down 27.6 percent from a year earlier. Fractional and Part 135 activity saw declines smaller than the average, falling 16.6 percent and 13.9 percent, respectively.

All aircraft categories also strayed into negative territory last month, with large jet flying faring the worst at -27.9 percent from a year ago. Midsize jet and turboprop activity was down slightly more than average, falling 22.1 percent and 21.4 percent, respectively. Light jet activity did slightly better but still declined by 16 percent from August 2020.

Weekday flights slid 23.6 percent from last year, while weekend flights dipped 10.7 percent—validating industry-watchers’ comments about leisure travel buoying business aviation’s post-Covid flight activity recovery to date.