Story ID: 
Aircraft Charter Demand Stabilizing
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: November saw mixed results in the charter sector, according to the latest data from online charter booking portal CharterX.
Word Count: 171
November saw mixed results in the charter sector, according to the latest data from online charter booking portal CharterX. Light-jet flight hours last month fell 6.9 percent compared with October to 14,842 hours, but the midsize category saw a 2.4-percent increase to 14,542 hours while large-cabin jets edged up 1 percent to 8,256 hours. CharterX takes its data from FAA flight records and filters out charter flights using tail numbers of Part 135-registered aircraft. According to CharterX, charter activity for November was down by about 9 percent from a year ago in the light category, 15 percent down for the large-cabin category but 7 percent up in midsize jets. Meanwhile, demand for flights during the coming holiday season is set to soar, according to the latest forward-looking demand index from online charter portal Avinode. Its index for the next 30 days shows a rise of just over 43 points from 61.88 on November 1 to 105.43, just slightly behind the 108.61 recorded on December 1 last year. Avinode’s flight-hour prices also appeared to reflect a firmer charter market in Europe than in the U.S.