Business Aircraft Flying Ends 2012 on Flat Note
Posted on January 11th, 2019
After posting a 2.3-percent loss in November, business aircraft flying decreased again last month versus a year ago–this time by 2 percent–according to TraqPak data released yesterday by aviation services company Argus. These results again were partially weighed down by the temporary shutdown of Avantair’s turboprop flight operations during the fourth quarter. Results by operational category were mostly negative last month with the exception of Part 135 activity, “finishing strong” with a year-over-year increase of 8.8 percent. Notably, this marks the third consecutive monthly increase for the charter segment, which took the biggest hit of all operational categories since 2010. Part 91 flying last month was down 5.7 percent from a year ago and fractional flying fell by 9.2 percent. By aircraft categories, only large-cabin jet activity posted a gain, rising by a mere 0.3 percent year-over-year. Midsize jet flying remained unchanged from a year ago, while light jets and turboprops posted losses of 1.4 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively. Among market segments, Part 135 midsize jets posted the biggest year-over-year increase, climbing 13.9 percent. Fractional turboprops recorded the largest decline, falling 16.1 percent from a year ago, driven down by the 
after-effects of the grounding at Avantair. Argus TraqPak data provides “serial-number-specific aircraft arrival and departure information on all IFR flights in the U.S.”
