Posted on July 13th, 2011
Business aircraft flight activity in the U.S. maintained its positive rate of climb last month, with a 1.1-percent year-over-year gain thanks to more flying by Part 91 private operators and fractional providers, according to TraqPak data released yesterday by aviation services company Argus. Fractional flying led the group again, with an 8.7-percent increase from a year ago, while Part 91 activity rose 3.4 percent. However, for the fifth straight month Part 135 charter flying dragged down the overall results, this time falling 5.6 percent from June 2010. By aircraft category, large-cabin jet activity continued to shine most brightly, posting an 8.1-percent rise. The midsize and light jet segments again followed–up 6.4 and 0.6 percent, respectively–while turboprop flying continued to drop, this time by -3.6 percent year-over-year. Fractional midsize jet flying saw the largest gain, with an increase of 12.8 percent, and fractional large-cabin activity was right behind, rising by 11.4 percent from June last year. Meanwhile, the Part 135 turboprop segment had the largest decline in flights, down 10.3 percent from a year ago, marking the third month of consecutive double-digit year-over-year decline in this individual market segment. Argus’s TraqPak data “is serial-number-specific aircraft arrival and departure information on all IFR flights in the U.S.”
