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North American business aviation activity rose slightly in August amid signs of softening demand, according to the latest TraqPak report from Argus International. With a 7.9% gain, fractional operators drove the region’s 0.3% year-over-year (YOY) increase, while Part 135 flying was flat and Part 91 activity fell 2.9% on double-digit declines in midsize and large-cabin jets within this operational category. Globally, flight activity climbed 0.6% YOY, with Europe posting its second consecutive monthly decline, falling 1%.
“August is normally a transition month on the calendar where summer leisure flying cools with back-to-school, and we saw that again this year. Overall activity was positive, which is a good indicator that the market is still healthy,” said Travis Kuhn, senior v-p of software for Argus. “We do forecast a decline in September in North America, but we initially forecasted that during our annual report in January, which, more than anything, indicates that market has remained relatively stable throughout 2026.”
Among the four broad aircraft categories in North America, turboprops posted the largest yearly gain at 3.3%, followed by light jets at 2.9%. Midsize jets fell 1.9% YOY, and large-cabin jets declined 6.2%. Looking at the report’s 12 more granular segments, which break out each aircraft category by operational type, seven were positive for the month, with the largest individual gain coming from the large-cabin jet fractional segment, up 14.9% YOY.
In Europe, large-cabin jets drove most of the decline, falling 6.4%, while light jets slipped 5.1%. Turboprops and midsize jets posted yearly gains of 9.2% and 1.9%, respectively, in the region.
The remaining regions—Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America—recorded the strongest growth of any area tracked in the report, with combined activity up 17.4% year over year, bolstered by a 27.6% increase in turboprop flying. Light jets rose 13.9%, large-cabin jets rose 6.9%, and midsize jets rose 6.2%.
TraqPak analysts project North American activity will decline 0.1% YOY this month, with European activity expected to fall 0.4% over the same period.