Part 135 private jet charter operators saw black in January as the rest of the industry remained looking at red numbers, according to Argus TRAQPak.
The charter operators saw flight hours up 0.3% last month compared to 2020 helped by a 5.7% gain for midsize private jets. Light jets (up 2.6%) and turboprops (up 2.4%) both saw gains while large cabin jets were down 14.7%.
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Flights by fractional operators were down 9.2% year-over-year, although light jets saw a 1.7% gain. Midsize private jets were off 9.8%, while turboprop activity was down 17.6%, and large cabin jet flying dropped 25.8%.
Part 91 flights continued to fare the worst, down 18.6% from January 2020. While light jet flying was – 8%, turboprops were down 16.3%, midsize activity was – 25.6%, and large cabin jets were -29.7%.
Overall, according to Argus, industry flights hours declined 10.4% year-over-year.