January Bizjet Departures Up but Corporate Flights Drop

Global business jet departures were up 5% year over year (YOY) in January, with North American and European activity increasing 7% and 3%, respectively, according to analyst Jefferies. Citing WingX data, Jefferies also found that departures in the Asia-Pacific region were flat YOY for the month. Flight hours, meanwhile, were up 4% YOY, but the average trip duration was down 1% to about 1.7 hours.

Corporate flight department departures lagged behind other operator types, dipping 9% YOY in January and also down 16% from the same month in 2019. It was the only operator category to fall behind the pre-Covid 2019 benchmark.

Aircraft management departures declined by 1% YOY but were up 48% over the same period in 2019. On the positive side were private flight departments, up 11% YOY and 65% versus 2019, and fractional/charter combined, up 12% YOY and 52% from 2019.

FlyExclusive led the gains among the top fractional and charter operators, up 29%, followed by Flexjet with an 18% gain, and then NetJets and Wheels Up, each seeing 13% YOY increases last month.

Looking at the fleets of the top business jet manufacturers, Embraer aircraft saw the biggest gains, up 12% YOY in January, followed by Bombardier at +6%. Activity involving Textron Aviation and Gulfstream fleets was up 4% for each.