North American business aviation activity in July saw the first year-over-year decline since February 2021, according to newly-released Argus TraqPak data. Usage in the key market was down 4.4 percent compared to the previous July. All operational categories were negative for the month, led by Part 135 activity which was down 8.8 percent. Part 91 saw a 1.6 percent decrease while fractional usage was off by 0.4 percent.
The July Global Business Aircraft Activity report noted that all aircraft segments posted declines, with the large cabin segment experiencing the largest drop from July 2021 at 4.7 percent, with turboprops, midsize jets, and light jets off by 4.4, 4.3, and 4.2 percent respectively.
In contrast, Europe saw a monthly record of more than 102,000 business aviation flights, a Y-o-Y increase of 12.7 percent, led by the large cabin category which was up by nearly 20 percent. Activity in Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America was also up by more than 16 percent compared to July 2021.
“Overall global activity was up year over year and Europe was the busiest that we have ever seen,” explained Travis Kuhn, Argus International’s senior v-p of market intelligence. “Within North America, we did see a yearly decline but it’s important to point out July 2022 was still up 13 percent from July 2019.”
