Story ID: 
Global Bizjet Flights Dip in February
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Globally, business jet departures were down a percentage point
Word Count: 208
Global business aviation departures ebbed by 1% year over year (YOY) in February but are still up by 1% year to date, according to analyst Jefferies. Citing WingX data, Jefferies added that despite the softening in February, departure traffic in the month was still 33% above 2019 levels.
Europe led the declines last month, falling 5% YOY, and the Asia-Pacific region saw a 2% dip while North America activity slid 1%. Corporate flight departments continue to feel the malaise, with departures down last month by 15% YOY. Private flight departures, however, were up by 2%, and those involving fractional and charter operations surged by 4%.
While departures have softened, flight hours strengthened by 1% YOY last month and by 37% from February 2019. The average trip duration has been relatively stable at 1.7 hours. While February flight hours per aircraft averaged 24.7, or down 2% from a year ago, year-to-date the average is 25.3 hours, up a percentage point.
Flexjet and FlyExclusive are boosting the overall results, with the former seeing activity climb by 15% YOY and the latter jumping by 208% from 2019. Wheels Up activity fell 7% YOY and 34% from February 2019. Embraer aircraft departures are leading the gains among the major OEMs, up 7% YOY, while Textron Aviation flights were down 3%. Bombardier flights were down 1%, and Gulfstreams were flat.