Argus Traqpak projects 1.1% dip in May private jet flights

North American private jet flight activity is expected to dip 1.1% in May compared to 2023, according to analysts at Argus TraqPak.

The good news is that the industry outperformed the Argus forecast for April.

Flying last month dipped by 1.1%, outperforming the call for a 1.4% decline.

“April activity showed some positive signs in North America and around the globe,” says Argus SVP Travis Kuhn.

He adds, “The Part 135 market continues to remain in focus with a 3.2% decline but significant declines in small and large cabin aircraft. Looking into May, we expect a similar story on activity.”

While Charter and Jet Card flights—Part 135—were down 3.2%, Fractionals continued their strong performance, up 7.5% year over year.

Owner flights – Part 91 – was down 2.6%.

Turboprops were the star of April, with a 6.2% gain, the only aircraft category in the black.

Large cabin jets saw a 7.3% dip year-over-year, while Light jets were off 5.4%.

Midsize jets saw a flying spike of 14.8% for the fractional operators compared to 2023.

Turboprops saw the most significant drop, down 26.7%.

Meanwhile, in the Part 135 segment, Large jets were down 15.9%, and Turboprops were up by 8.7%