A 50% surge in private jet flight activity for the Winter Olympics in Italy helped worldwide private aviation to a two-week winning streak.
Worldwide private jet flight activity is on a two-week winning streak after a bumpy start.
Worldwide departures for Week 8 were up 3% compared to 2024.
Week-to-week private jet departures worldwide increased 1% from last week.
But first, we take a news break to update the medal count for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Games ran from Feb. 6 through Feb. 22, 2026.
WingX says the sporting event “generated a notable surge in business jet activity across Northern Italy.”
The 884 departures were a 39% increase over the typical average for any comparable timeframe.
That trails the 50% surge above normal levels for the 2022 Games in Beijing.
Paris last year had a 34% surge.
Tokyo in 2020 saw a 27% increase in private jet activity above normal levels.
So far, in 2026, on a year-over-year basis, the scorecard shows:
Beyond the 78,282 worldwide private jet segments, the U.S. posted a solid 4% year-over-year increase, with 55,617 departures.
Texas, with 6,086 departures, was up 11% year over year.
Florida saw 8% year-over-year growth.
Italy, with 1,014 segments, was up 32% year over year.
That helped Europe with 9,310 flights to a 1% year-over-year gain.
| Market | Week 08 | % Change vs. prior week | % Change vs W08 2025 | Last 52-week high | Week | Last 52-week low | Week | Last 4 Weeks (Flights) | % Change vs YOY |
| Global | 78282 | 1% | 3% | 83366 | 2025-42 | 64150 | 2026-01 | 291769 | 3% |
| North America | 56841 | 3% | 4% | 61725 | 2025-42 | 43473 | 2025-27 | 208448 | 3% |
| USA | 55617 | 3% | 4% | 59942 | 2025-42 | 41974 | 2025-27 | 203197 | 3% |
| Florida | 10029 | 12% | 8% | 10029 | 2026-08 | 4382 | 2025-33 | 34759 | 4% |
| California | 5196 | -13% | 0% | 5987 | 2026-07 | 3905 | 2025-27 | 21253 | 11% |
| Texas | 6086 | 8% | 11% | 6706 | 2025-47 | 4036 | 2025-27 | 21759 | 5% |
| Europe | 9310 | -3% | 1% | 16242 | 2025-28 | 6574 | 2026-01 | 35799 | 2% |
| UK | 1417 | -2% | 4% | 2308 | 2025-28 | 952 | 2026-01 | 5265 | -1% |
| Germany | 1013 | -19% | -10% | 1696 | 2025-22 | 541 | 2026-01 | 4493 | 0% |
| France | 1269 | -11% | -12% | 2900 | 2025-28 | 1073 | 2026-01 | 5197 | -6% |
| Switzerland | 923 | -2% | -9% | 1082 | 2026-04 | 545 | 2025-16 | 3529 | 4% |
| Italy | 1014 | 1% | 32% | 2560 | 2025-26 | 571 | 2026-01 | 3698 | 22% |
| Middle East | 1159 | -23% | -24% | 1850 | 2025-20 | 1159 | 2026-08 | 5637 | -3% |
| Africa | 832 | -6% | -10% | 1060 | 2025-48 | 611 | 2025-39 | 3298 | 1% |
| Asia | 2443 | -1% | -1% | 2780 | 2025-49 | 1865 | 2025-19 | 9385 | 5% |
| South America | 2451 | -16% | 11% | 3076 | 2025-51 | 1724 | 2026-01 | 10607 | 23% |
Source: WingX for Private Jet Card Comparisons. Includes Jets and VIP Airliners.
Fractional and charter operators were a wash for Week 8.
Their 39,219 worldwide segments were even with a year ago.
In the U.S., fractional and charter operators fared better.
They saw a 2% year-over-year bump.
Florida was the top performer.
Its 5,694 flights were 7% above 2025 levels
| Market (Part 91K & Part135) | Week 08 | % Change vs. prior week | % Change vs W08 2025 | Last 52-week high | Week | Last 52-week low | Week | Last 4 Weeks (Flights) | % Change vs YOY |
| Global | 39219 | 1% | 0% | 42688 | 2025-42 | 33095 | 2026-03 | 145231 | 2% |
| North America | 30154 | 2% | 2% | 33365 | 2025-42 | 24495 | 2025-27 | 110892 | 2% |
| USA | 29668 | 3% | 2% | 32667 | 2025-42 | 23817 | 2025-27 | 108886 | 2% |
| Florida | 5694 | 9% | 7% | 5695 | 2026-01 | 2356 | 2025-33 | 20086 | 5% |
| California | 3347 | -14% | 0% | 3911 | 2026-07 | 2607 | 2025-27 | 13544 | 12% |
| Texas | 2614 | 8% | 3% | 3002 | 2025-47 | 1854 | 2025-27 | 9642 | 5% |
| Europe | 6252 | -4% | -1% | 11686 | 2025-28 | 4854 | 2026-02 | 23734 | -1% |
| UK | 986 | 1% | 2% | 1646 | 2025-28 | 742 | 2026-06 | 3550 | -4% |
| Germany | 592 | -22% | -7% | 1125 | 2025-22 | 403 | 2026-01 | 2664 | -1% |
| France | 858 | -10% | -10% | 2172 | 2025-28 | 715 | 2026-02 | 3409 | -7% |
| Switzerland | 726 | -3% | -10% | 745 | 2026-07 | 407 | 2025-16 | 2712 | 3% |
| Italy | 714 | -1% | 25% | 1918 | 2025-27 | 426 | 2026-01 | 2552 | 12% |
| Middle East | 622 | -19% | -16% | 1049 | 2025-35 | 525 | 2025-10 | 2843 | 0% |
| Africa | 203 | -16% | -24% | 280 | 2025-48 | 153 | 2025-39 | 833 | -11% |
| Asia | 314 | -10% | 2% | 391 | 2025-14 | 198 | 2025-29 | 1180 | 6% |
| South America | 41 | -7% | -31% | 82 | 2025-11 | 32 | 2025-19 | 165 | -12% |
Source: WingX for Private Jet Card Comparisons. Includes Jets and VIP Airliners.
Charter and fractional activity in Europe (6,252 segments) was 1% down year-over-year.
Italy bucked the trend.
Its 714 segments were a 25% year-over-year gain.
The Middle East (-19%), Africa (-16%), and Asia (-10%) all posted double-digit losses compared to Week 8 in 2025.
Find the perfect solution for your private aviation needs
Save Time. Buy Confidently.
Receive an apples-to-apples comparison of programs that meet your needs from more than 500 jet card and fractional options covering 65 points of differentiation and over 40,000 data points.
