Business jet flights across Europe are estimated to fall 14.9% this month, compared with January last year, according to Argus International’s global TRAQPak report.
TRAQPak’s analysts predicted the fall based on the European market’s dip in December, which was down 15.8% from December 2021. Globally, flight activity slowed in December with a decrease of 5% from December 2021, while monthly activity dropped 1.8% from November 2022.
In Europe, large cabin jets accounted for the biggest drop in activity levels, down 36.6% from December 2021, followed by mid-size jets (down by 11.5%) and small cabin jets (down 1%). The only aircraft type that saw any increase in activity in the period was turbo prop aircraft, with a small growth of 0.6%.
Elsewhere, predictions for this month were more optimistic, with a 2.3% increase in flight activity predicted year-over-year in North America for January 2023. This follows a smaller drop in activity for the region in December, down 6.2% from December 2021. Despite this, overall activity in North America remains up 12.7% from December 2019.
Fractional activity remained relatively consistent in the region, with a 1.3% decrease year-over-year. In terms of activity of aircraft types in North America, all were negative, with mid-size cabin jets performing the worst year-over-year (down by 9.1%). This was followed by large cabin jets, which recorded a 5.7% fall in activity, small cabin jets down by5.5% and turbo props with a decline of 3.7%.
By region within the continent, the largest monthly decline occurred in New England, with a drop in activity of 15.5% from November 2022, representing the region’s fourth month of decline in a row. Activity in the Caribbean increased by 26.2% in the month, while Canada decreased by 3.9%.
Across Africa, Asia, Australia and South America there were just over 60,000 business aviation flights during December, up 9.3% from November. These markets appear to be strengthening as activity was up significantly for the fourth month in a row.
Meanwhile, the fall in European business aviation contrasts with the level achieved last June, the region’s busiest month on record in June, according to Argus’ TRAQPak report released in last July. Year-on-year, the market in Europe increased by almost a third between June 2021 and June 2022.
See the business activity statistics by region below.
Business aviation flights – at a glance:
Business aviation flights across Europe
Aircraft type |
December 2022 vs December 2021 |
December 2022 vs November 2022 |
Turbo prop |
0.6% |
-5% |
Small cabin jet |
-1% |
-6.3% |
Mid-size cabin jet |
-11.5% |
-2.3% |
Large cabin jet |
-36.6% |
-3.1% |
Total |
-15.8% |
-4.3% |
Business aviation flights across North America, December 2022 vs December 2021
Aircraft type |
Part 91 |
Part 135 |
Fractional |
Total |
Turbo prop |
-3.6% |
-3.7% |
-6% |
-3.7% |
Small cabin jet |
-8.5% |
-5.2% |
4.2% |
-5.5% |
Mid-size cabin jet |
-11% |
-12.4% |
-2.2% |
-9.1% |
Large cabin jet |
-9% |
-2.2% |
-7.1% |
-5.7% |
Total |
-7.6% |
-6.4% |
-1.3% |
-6.2% |
Business aviation flights across Africa, Asia, Australia and South America
Aircraft type |
December 2022 vs December 2021 |
December 2022 vs November 2022 |
Turbo prop |
13.8% |
9.1% |
Small cabin jet |
-0.8% |
-0.7% |
Mid-Size cabin jet |
-8.9% |
11.7% |
Large cabin jet |
27.6% |
12.8% |
Total |
10.5% |
9.3% |
