The bumper arrival of business jets for the inauguration appears to confirm the strong sense in the industry that the change in the US government is good news for the bizjet industry. The turnaround in bizjet activity in the US, which had been flat through most of last year, stands in contrast to the European market, where activity receded 6% in the last week and is trending at 2019 levels.
So far this year (1st – 20th January), global business jet flights are up 3% compared to last year, the active aircraft fleet 1% larger than the same period last year. Week 3, through 19th January, included the run up to Trump’s inauguration, drawing a large number of business jets to Washington, one contributor to the 11% growth in business jet flights compared to Week 3 2024.
Chart 1: Global business jet departures by country, 1st – 20th January 2024.
North America
The main story in the US this week is the inauguration of President Trump, the ceremony held on Monday 20th January and the preceding days seeing a substantial surge in bizjet traffic into Washington DC airports. During the Friday – Sunday weekend prior to the ceremony (17th – 19th January), over 700 bizjet arrivals were recorded into Washington DC airports, 300% more than during the previous weekend (10th – 12th January), four times more than in the 3 days prior to President Biden’s inauguration in 2021. On January 17th there were almost 300 bizjet arrivals into Washington metro area. The busiest departure cities for the DC arrivals were New York and West Palm Beach. Super Midsize and Ultra Long-Range jets served most of the demand, busiest operator types Fractional and Aircraft Management fleets flying an almost equal number of flights. Bizjet activity in the US since the election (November 6th – January 20th) is 4% ahead of comparable last year, contrasting the -1% decline in the first 10 months of 2024.
Chart 2: Inauguration day 2025
Europe
This week Davos, Switzerland plays host to the latest annual general meeting of the World Economic Forum. Bizjet arrivals into neighbouring LSMD, LSZH, LSZR and LSZS airports began to rise towards the end of last week. During the Friday – Sunday weekend (17th – 19th January) prior to the event, 183 bizjet arrivals were recorded into airports near Davos, 2 more arrivals than the weekend prior to the event in 2024. The Monday – Friday event last year saw over 400 bizjet arrivals at nearby airports, over 100 bizjet arrivals recorded on the opening Monday of this year’s event. Despite the hosting of WEF, bizjet activity across Switzerland this month is 11% down on January 2024
Elsewhere across Europe, France and the United Kingdom are the busiest markets, starting this month 4% and 2% ahead of last January. Domestic activity in France is 10% ahead of last year, connections from France to the UK 6% ahead, connections to Italy and Germany up 23% compared to last year. For just Week 3, the European market is much slower, with 6% fewer bizjet movements than same week last year. Bizjet arrivals into Switzerland were down by 22% in Week 3.
Chart 3: Business jet city flows from France, January 2025.
Rest of World
So far in January, activity outside of the United States and Europe is 1% behind last year, with a stronger Week 3, movements up by 4%. In Week 3, South America is showing strong growth in bizjet activity, 19% up year on year, with the vast majority of traffic private. The Middle East continues to see some decline, 3% fewer flights in Week 3. Bizjet flights out of Africa are trailing by 11% compared to last year. Across all the OEM fleets outside North America and Europe, the majority of flights are being served by Cessna bizjets, the active fleet growing 1% compared to last year. Bombardier and Embraer fleets are seeing strong activity growth in both departures and active fleet compared to last year.
Chart 4: Business jet departures by OEM in ROW region, January 2025
