October snaps 19-month run of private jet flight gains with YoY dip

During the month of October, private jets in North America recorded a year-over-year decline.

Last month, ARUGS analysts predicted a slight year-over-year increase of about 1.1%.

However, North America saw a slight year-over-year decrease of about 2.6%, compared to October 2025.

Additionally, ARGUS TRAQPak analysts expect this trend to turn around in November, predicting a 0.4% year-over-year increase next month.

Travis Kuhn, Senior Vice President at ARGUS, spoke with Private Jet Card Comparisons about the recent decline in the private aviation industry in North America.

‘October flight activity in North America declined for the first time since February 2025, ending a 19-month run of yearly increases. Part 91 activity has been a soft spot in the industry, and it showed further softening during October, especially in the mid-size and large cabin segment. On the positive side, Fractional activity continues to be a strong catalyst as we move forward. Our initial forecast for November does show activity down slightly, but that can change if we see better than currently expected demand around the Thanksgiving holiday.’

The overall year-over-year decline in private jet flights in North America was the first annual decline for any month in 2026.

Private Jet Growth

According to ARGUS, the major private aviation categories of aircraft saw disappointing year-over-year results.

The large cabin jet market saw the largest year-over-year decline in October. The segment saw a 5.1% drop in flights.

The midsize cabin jet segment also saw a year-over-year decline of about 3.5%.

Meanwhile, both small cabin jets and turboprops recorded a 2% or slight year-over-year decrease.

October 2026 Private Jet Flight Activity

However, the business segments of private aviation recorded mixed results in October.

Fractional operations remained positive on a year-over-year comparison, recording 5.9% more flights than last October.

However, Part 135 operations took a slight step back, flying 1.2% fewer flights year-over-year.

Part 91 operations took the largest hit. According to ARGUS TRAQPak analysts, the segment saw a 7.8% year-over-year drop.

Additionally, October remained relatively positive month-over-month. Compared to September, October had approximately 3.5% more flights.

However, because October has an extra day compared to September, the average flights per day in October increased by just 0.2%.

Fractional activity saw the largest month-over-month jump, recording 7.1%. Even so, both Part 91 and Part 135 operations increased month-over-month.

Five of the eight FAA-designated regions in North America reported monthly increases.

The Southern region reported the largest gain of 17.1%. However, both the Western-Pacific and Southwest regions reported month-over-month increases of over 7.0%.

The Northwestern US reported the largest decline, at 13.1%. Additionally, the New England region saw a double-digit month-over-month drop.

Meanwhile, Caribbean activity increased by about 11.1%, although activity in Canada decreased by 6.2%.

Fractional Operators

Fractional operators saw the largest year-over-year increase of each business segment.

According to ARGUS TRAQPak analysts, fractional flights increased by about 5.9% compared to last October.

This was largely led by the large cabin jet segment, which reported a massive gain of 18.6%.

Additionally, both small cabin and midsize markets recorded year-over-year gains, reporting a 5.2% and a 5.4% jump, respectively.

However, the turboprop segment was the only class to record a year-over-year drop. Overall, turboprop fractional operations decreased by about 4.7% year-over-year.

Part 135 Operators

Meanwhile, Part 135 operations took a slight dip, reporting 1.2% fewer flights than last October.

This drop was largely due to a 4.4% decrease in large cabin jet flights. However, midsize cabin jets also saw fewer flights, recording 2.3% fewer flights year-over-year.

Meanwhile, both the turboprop and small cabin jet segments saw slight increases.

The turboprop segment saw an increase of 0.6%, while the small cabin jet market saw an increase of just 0.2%.

Part 91 Activity

According to ARGUS TRAQPak analysts, Part 91 operations took the biggest hit compared to October 2025. Part 91 flights decreased by approximately 7.8% year-over-year.

Each major aircraft class under Part 91 operations reported a year-over-year drop. However, the midsize cabin jet segment reported the largest decline, flying 15.9% fewer flights than last year.

The large cabin jet segment also saw a double-digit decline of about 11.3%

The small cabin jet market saw a year-over-year decrease of about 6.2%, while the turboprop segment saw the smallest year-over-year drop of just 2.3%.