Story ID: 
WingX: Bizjet Ops Surging Ahead in 2022
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Business jet ops in the first 10 days of the year are up 26 percent over 2020 levels, right before the pandemic took hold, WingX reported.
Word Count: 312
This year is “off to a fast start” with business jet operations besting tallies from two years ago—just before the onset of the pandemic—by 26 percent in the first 10 days, according to WingX’s Global Market Tracker data released today. Business jet operations for the first week-and-a-half of 2022 have risen by 38 percent over 2021, WingX added.

In the U.S., business jet operations have jumped by 31 percent compared with January 2020. Flights are up 45 percent from last year and 30 percent from January 2019. January 2 has been a high point with more than 7,000 flights, compared with 4,500 on the same day in 2019. Florida remains a “global hub” of business travel, with traffic surging 21 percent over 2021 and 45 percent over January 2020. International connections have climbed 47 percent in the U.S., with increases to Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas, WingX reported.

In Europe, business jet traffic has jumped 53 percent over last year, while marking a 16 percent improvement over January 2020. As cross-border restrictions lifted, international sectors increased 69 percent from 2021 and were actually up 16 percent from January 2019.

France has been the busiest market, with flights up 25 percent from last year. Connections, meanwhile, increased by nearly four times from Switzerland to the UK over last year. In fact, business jet departures from Geneva overall are up 91 percent over last year and 29 percent over January 2020. Farnborough Airport near London is seeing more than double the traffic from last year. However, flights between France and the UK are down from two years ago.

As for the rest of the world, WingX listed Canada, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, the UAE, and Colombia as the busiest business jet markets. Business jet operations have strengthened over last year in most of the markets except Canada, Australia, and the UAE.

In China, traffic is down by 33 percent from January 2021 levels and 16 percent from January 2020.