Story ID: 
Argus: Business Aircraft Flying Climbs in February
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: Activity buoyed by Asia-Pacific, South America, and Africa as Europe and North America see declines
Word Count: 289
Global business aircraft flight activity last month rose 1.1% year over year (YOY), with North America and Europe seeing declines of 2.6% and 4.8%, respectively, while the rest of the world climbed by 10.6%, according to TraqPak data from Argus International. When corrected for the leap day last February, flying was up 4.7% globally last month, it added. Argus analysts are predicting a 0.6% YOY increase in North America and a 2.9% traffic decrease in Europe this month.
In North America, results by operational category were mostly positive last month, with fractional activity once again leading the way with 3.6% YOY gains. Part 135 flying inched up by 0.4%, marking the third consecutive month of increases, while Part 91 plunged 7.5%. But aircraft categories in the region were all negative versus last February: large-cabin jets, -4.4%; light jets, -4%; turboprops, -2.7%; and midsize jets, -0.5%. The largest and only double-digit increase in individual categories in North America was fractional large-cabin activity, which climbed 10.2% YOY.
According to Argus, European activity was “sluggish” last month, with aircraft categories in the red: turboprops, -7.3%; light jets, -5%; large-cabin jets, -3.9%; and midsize jets, -3.1%. But it was the complete opposite in the rest of the world: turboprops, +43.6%; midsize jets, +20.1%; light jets, +16.8%; and large-cabin jets, +7.5%.
“Overall demand continues to remain strong in North America. Activity was technically down in February, but it was up when adjusted for the extra day in 2024. Part 135 activity has now produced three straight monthly increases, and, while there is no guarantee of gains every single month, we still expect activity to be positive for that segment in 2025,” said Argus v-p of software Travis Kuhn. “Part 91 and large-cabin activity continue to be areas of focus as we see some continued softening in demand.”