Business aircraft travel limped into the New Year, softening last month by 2.7 percent globally from a year earlier, according to the latest report from Argus International.
Based on TraqPak data, the Argus Analytics Global Aircraft Activity Report for December found activity in the North American market had declined by 3 percent year-over-year (YOY) in December with weaker-than-expected traffic between Christmas and New Year's. The European market, meanwhile, plummeted by 8.8 percent last month.
"Activity for December fell short of expectations once more, thanks in part to a 4 percent swing in expected activity the week between Christmas and New Year's,” noted Travis Kuhn, senior v-p of software for Argus International. “Overall, it seemed to cap off a relatively quiet year for activity. We end 2023 with a very strong fractional market, a relatively stable Part 91 market, and an overall decline in the Part 135 market.”
Moving into 2024, Kuhn added, “We'll be watching those markets closely…along with small cabin and turboprop aircraft, which saw a year of consistent declines." Argus anticipates a 0.5 percent year-over-year decrease in North American flight activity and a 7.1 percent drop in Europe this month.
In North America in December, Argus had forecast a slight increase in activity, but fractional operators ended the month with the only gain, up 11.8 percent YOY. Part 135 operations fell 10 percent, while Part 91 activity inched down by 1.3 percent.
By category, large-cabin jets were relatively stable in the month, marking a 0.9 percent YOY gain. However, all other aircraft classes were down—turboprops, -7.2 percent; light jets, -2.7 percent; and midsize jets, -1.2 percent.
In Europe, a 17.1 percent YOY decline in turboprop activity helped drag down operations overall. And conversely, in North America, large-cabin jet flying dropped by 9.8 percent. Midsize jet activity was down by 3.3 percent, while light jets fell 3.8 percent.
In the rest of the world, business aircraft activity climbed 4 percent YOY in December, led by a 16.6 percent gain in light jet activity. Turbporop flying rose 11.9 percent and midsize jets increased by 5.6 percent. The only category down in the regions outside the U.S. and Europe was large-cabin jets at -10.9 percent.