Posted on March 14th, 2011
U.S. business aircraft flight activity at Part 91 operators surged 5.8 percent last month from a year ago, but the increase wasn’t enough to offset declines at Part 135 charter and Part 91K fractional firms, according to TraqPak data released yesterday by aviation services company Argus. Overall, flight activity last month fell 0.5 percent year-over-year, with the Part 135 charter and Part 91K fractional segments seeing activity slump by 8.7 percent and 3 percent, respectively, compared with February 2010. By aircraft category, the business jet categories all saw increased activity last month versus a year ago, while turboprop flying slid by 3 percent. Large-cabin activity rose by 2.5 percent, followed by midsize jets at 1.3 percent and light jets at an anemic 0.1 percent. Fractional turboprop activity again bucked the decrease in both its aircraft category and operational segment, climbing 5.8 percent over the same month last year, thanks mainly to increased flying at Avantair. By individual market segment, Part 91 small cabin jets showed the strongest rebound in activity over last year, with an increase of 10.3 percent. Argus’s TraqPak data “is serial-number-specific aircraft arrival and departure information on all IFR flights in the U.S.”
Tags: business aviation, Business jet recovery, business aircraft activity
