October 14, 2023
Private jet travel continued to rebound in July moving closer to 2019 levels, according to data from Argus.
Still, the numbers may have been slightly disappointing after a fast start when flying over the July 4th holiday spiked above the previous year’s numbers.
Of course compared to the airlines, where passenger counts remain down by 75% look like a sunny day.
Part 91 non-commercial flights, operated for the owners of the aircraft, continued to lag slightly behind fractional (Part 91K) and charter operators (Part 135). In July Part 91 flights were down 23% compared to 2019 in July, an improvement from June (-28%), May (-46%), and the bottom in April (-68%).
Fractional operators, which include NetJets and Directional’s Flexjet, saw flights down by 19% in July, a continued upswing from April when activity had dropped by 80%.
Part 135 charter operators continued to show the strongest recovery powered by newcomers seeking to reduce exposure to COVID-19. July flights were 15% behind last year’s numbers, an improvement from April when they were off by 67%.
| Month | Private Operators (Part 91) | Fractional Operators (Part 91K) | Charter Operators (Part 135) |
| January | -1% | 6% | -3% |
| February | -3% | 7% | -3% |
| March | -35% | -30% | -27% |
| April | -68% | -80% | -67% |
| May | -46% | -54% | -47% |
| June | -28% | -25% | -22% |
| July | -23% | -19% | -15% |
| YTD | -31% | -29% | -27% |
Continued improvement for private jets is not a given, according to WingX, another business aviation consultancy.
In its most recent weekly update, it wrote, “The U.S. has lost some ground recently. A month ago, trends were coming within 15% of usual, now they are more than 20% behind.”
WingX managing director Richard Koe commented, “The mid-summer comeback in business jet activity has been weaker than anticipated due to the stop-start lockdowns in the US. In particular, the East Coast is still in a slump, and Florida, the recovery engine so far, is now spluttering.”
Overall, private jet flights across all three categories are down 29% compared to 2019, according to Argus.
