Private jet flight activity to stay 15-20% above pre-Covid levels

In a report covering the first half of 2022, Argus Traqpak analysts say despite slowing growth, private jet flight activity will finish the year up to 20% ahead of 2019 levels

Despite “cooling,” private jet flight activity will end 2022 up some 15-20% ahead of 2019 pre-Covid pandemic levels, according to Argus Traqpak analysts.

“With six months of 2022 in the books, we’ve continued to see a record-setting pace for business aviation, primarily in North American and European markets,” said Argus Senior Vice President Travis Kuhn.

Analysts estimate that flight activity from July through December 2022 will increase by 1% over the same period in 2021 and 19.8% over the same period in 2019.

Overall activity is expected to follow normal flight patterns with peaks in August and October and a winter slow-down in November and December.

Based on Argus projects for the remainder of 2022, North American private jet flights will finish up 8.5% compared to 2021, 55.2% from 2020, and 18.2% compared to 2019.

Looking back to the first half of this year, every month has risen compared to 2021, with February recording the largest increase, up 29.6%.

2022 flight activity through June is up 15.8% from 2021, while flight hours have risen 23.1% for the same period.

2022 year-to-date flight activity is up 17.0% from 2019, while flight hours have risen 24.0% for the same period.

Part 91 activity for the first half of 2022 has recorded the highest growth from 2021 for the operational categories.

Private Jet Flight Activity 2022 vs. 2021 and 2020

Private jet flight activity has increased across Part 91, Part 135, and Part 91k fractional, according to Argus TraqPak data comparing the first half of 2022 to 2021 and 2020.

The overall segment is up 19% from the first half of 2021.

Fractional flight activity is up 14.2% from 2021 and 81.7% from 2020.

Similarly, Part 135 flight activity is up 12.8% from 2021 and 67.8% from 2020.

In terms of growth by category, large cabin jets saw the largest growth in H1 2022, up 28.5%. Turboprops saw the smallest increase compared to 2021, up just 8.8%.

Recently, Argus pared back its growth estimates for the rest of the year.