Large jets are the bright spot as private flights dip 1/10th of 1% in June

Business aviation’s winning streak of monthly gains ended in June with a slight downturn despite a double-digit increase in jet card and on-demand charter of large jets

TRAQPak’s review of flight activity from June 2018 compared June 2017 shows a decrease of 0.1%. The results by operational category were all red – meaning down – with Fractional activity showing the largest yearly decline, down 0.7% year over year. Part 91 activity followed with a drop of 0.1% while Part 135 activity recorded just six fewer flights than 2017 to remain flat, 0.0%. The aircraft categories were mixed with large jets posting the largest gain from 2017, up 1.5%. Mid-size jets posted an increase of 1.4%, while light jets posted a 0.5% year over year decrease. The turboprop segment posted a decline of 1.9%. Large jet Part 135 traffic was the best performer of June with 11.5% growth while fractional flying of large jets fell 21%

Year-over-Year Flight Activity (January to June 2018)

	Part 91	Part 135	Fractional	ALL
Turbo Prop	0.4%	-5.1%	0.2%	-1.9%
Light Jet	0.3%	0.6%	-6.3%	-0.5%
Mid-Size Jet	-1.7%	1.5%	7.0%	1.4%
Large Jet	0.5%	11.5%	-21.0%	1.5%
All Aircraft	-0.1%	0.0%	-0.7%	-0.1%

June business aviation flight activity posted an expected month over month decrease to finish down 2.6% from May 2018. Results by operational category were all negative for the month, with the Part 135 segment posting the largest monthly decrease, down 4.0%. Part 91 & Fractional flight activity each posted a decrease of 1.6% & 2.2% for the month. Aircraft categories were all negative as well, with mid-size jets leading the way, down 3.6%. Light & large jets each followed with a decrease of 3.4% for the month while turboprops posted a decrease 0.6%.

ARGUS TRAQPak data is aircraft flight number specific arrival and departure information on all IFR flights in the US (including Alaska and Hawaii), the Caribbean and Canada. For purposes of these statistics, FAR Part 135 flight data represents all flight activity of aircraft on a Part 135 charter certificate regardless of individual flight mission, excluding cargo, scheduled Part 135, and fractional operators.