Argus: U.S. Bizav Flying Continues Incremental Recovery

Business aircraft flying in the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean last month ticked up 1.2 percent from August, but is down 16.6 percent year-over-year as the Covid pandemic continues to stymie activity, according to the latest TraqPak data from Argus International. The company’s analysts predict that there will be a 14.8 percent year-over-year decrease in flight activity this month.

Results by operational category were down across the board, with Part 91 activity posting the largest yearly decrease—down 22.3 percent from September 2019. Meanwhile, fractional and Part 135 activity slid 12.1 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Looking at aircraft categories and following the post-Covid trends, light jets once again fared the best, falling 10.4 percent year-over-year last month, while large-cabin jet activity suffered the steepest decline, plunging 29.1 percent from a year ago. Midsize jet flying decreased by 17.7 percent year-over-year, and turboprop activity descended 14.7 percent over the same period.

According to Argus, weekday traffic was down 20.4 percent in September, while weekend flying fell by a more modest 14.1 percent. The U.S. Southeast continued to dominate with 46,699 departures last month, nearly 20,000 more than the next-closest regions on the West Coast, Argus said.