Private jet flights increased 0.3% in the first six months of 2019

Despite the strong economy, business aviation saw tepid growth so far this year, and a decline of 0.5% in June year-over-year

TRAQPak’s June report on private aviation flying reported a decrease of 0.5% year-over-year as year-to-date flying showed tepid growth of 0.3%.

Year over year, the results by operational category were mixed with fractional activity posting the only yearly increase, up 5.0% from June 2018. Part 91 activity cooled for the period to record a drop of 1.2%, while Part 135 on-demand charter and jet card activity declined for the 13th straight month, down 1.6%.

The aircraft categories were mostly negative with midsize jets posting the only increase from 2018, up 1.3%. Large jets posted a decrease of 2.0%, while light jets dropped 1.9% year over year. Turboprops decreased by 0.6%.

June business aviation flight activity posted a month over month decrease to finish down 4.2% from May 2019.

Results by operational category were all negative for the month, with Part 91 flight activity posting the largest decrease, down 5.1%. Fractional activity followed with a decrease of 4.4%, while Part 135 activity dropped 2.9%.

Aircraft categories were also down for the month with large jets posting the largest decrease, down 7.1% from May. Midsize jets followed with a decrease of 5.6% while light jets decreased by 4.2%. The turboprop segment recorded a 1.7% drop, for the month.

The southeastern U.S. remained tops in activity with 52,074 departures followed by California, Nevada, and Arizona with 33,004 flights. In a bright spot, weekend flights increased by 2.4%.

TRAQPak predicts a 1% increase in July.