Buisness aviation news

With just a few days passed since the US election result, the effect on business jet utilisation is not obvious. In fact activity has calmed, followed several weeks where there were more flights than last year. In Europe, the political and economic strife in Germany is reflected in substantial cutbacks in bizav demand. Destabilisation and conflict in the Middle East has equally seen a big step back in flight activity.

Week 44 capped a topsy turvy 4 weeks in the key US market, with much of October flat-to-negative, but strong gains this week, notably in Florida, also in the US election Swing States, suggesting that the elections may have directly boosted utilisation. The largest European markets are on a stagnant trajectory, with Italy the obvious exception. This week also saw a big increase in year-on-year bizjet traffic in Saudi Arabia.

Business jet fleets have seen a boost in demand in the second half of the October, notably in the US and notably in California. NFL Games have been a draw, as have the GPs in Mexico and Texas. US presidential campaigning may also have spurred activity. The European market was also head-above-water, in contrast to a further slide in activity in the Middle East.

The International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) has issued its Third Quarter 2024 Preowned Aircraft Market Report, highlighting a rise in optimism among members as the quarter concluded. The report was released today here in Las Vegas at the National Business Aviation Association’s 2024 Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE).

Global bizjet activity was blunted by Hurricane Milton last week, principally in the busiest US State Florida. European bizjet activity is slipping back, particularly in France. Bizjet activity in the Middle East is also wilting under the weight of regional conflict.

Business jet demand is navigating turbulent waters, with the approach of the US elections, outgoing and incoming hurricanes across the South-East of the country, economic stagnation in Europe and escalating conflicts in the Middle East. The combined headwinds are clearly widening the declines in comparison to 2023, which itself was a reset from the post-Covid high points in 2022.

Bizjet demand picked up in the last week, having been notably weaker in the first half of September. The trend in the key US market was still slightly negative, with the hurricane impact in Florida offsetting the growth in bizjet activity in Texas. In Europe, UK bizjet activity was up but demand has stagnated in Central and Southern Europe.

Business jet demand is ebbing fast this month, particularly in the small and midsize fleets. In the US, the weakest spot is California. In Europe, the post Olympics hangover is showing up in much lower flight activity, notably in Germany where flight activity is trending down by % this month.

Aero Asset released its 2024 Half Year Heli Market Trends Twin-Engine edition. Aero Asset leverages proprietary market intelligence to deliver a comprehensive analysis of the market, allowing readers to navigate the shifting dynamics of the preowned twin-engine helicopter market.

Bizjet flight activity is slowing fast in the US this month. The declines clearly derive from waning demand in the smaller end of the market, particularly older entry level and midsize jets. Business jet activity in California has actually fallen behind 2019 levels. The European market hasn’t seen the same relapse, but still weak in Central Europe, and much closer than the US to 2019 levels.

Bizjet demand has wobbled in September, significantly behind September last year, the slowdown mainly in the US, with bizjet cycles in California down 15% YOY. In Europe, both France and Germany saw big drops in demand this month.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) published the Second Quarter 2024 General Aviation Aircraft Shipment and Billing Report. The general aviation aircraft manufacturing industry’s results for the first six months of 2024, when compared to the same period in 2023, show increased deliveries across the piston airplane, business jet and piston helicopter segments along with an increase in the overall value of aircraft shipments.

The European market is slowing sharply in September compared to the Olympics-boosted August, also now trailing September 2023, especially in the Charter market, and especially in Germany, Italy also faring less well. In the US, the year-on-year Labor Day bizjet activity was slightly adrift, although it spiked in Florida, flights up 12% YOY, 9% gain in Part 135 and 91K flights.

Part 135 and 91K flights out of Texas and Florida were up more than 10% in the latest week and are trending up 5% in August, contrast the 1% decline in bizjet activity in the US, 8 months into 2024. The late summer surge in the US compares to a post-Olympics slowdown in Europe, although Nice is still seeing strong growth, and there are record breaking levels of flight activity at Tivat in Montenegro.

The US market is trending just a fraction below last year, with weakness in corporate flight departments, whilst fractional operations continue to hit peaks. The popularity of fractional programs is particularly evident in transatlantic visits to Europe this summer, catalysed by the Olympics. Within Europe, US visitors have driven spikes in activity since the start of the Olympics, demand starting to taper off in France this week but still very strong in the UK.

The importance of the leisure market in Europe is conspicuous this month as the Olympics sees a surge in high-end European tourists. The US market has had a weak start in August, also true of the main business jet destinations in Asia and Africa.

The bizjet market´s bright spot this summer is Europe, with the Olympics drawing record numbers of private jet movements to France, the UK also enjoying the influx of sports fans into the region. Bizjet demand in the US seems to have hit the brakes in the last couple of weeks, having had a relatively strong July.

As predicted, the Olympics venues have attracted business jet arrivals from all over the world as dignitaries, heads of corporations and celebrities flocked to the opening ceremony and sporting events. The Olympics appears to be very popular with US visitors, many coming via the UK. The Olympics bounce is helping the market recover from a relatively weak H124, with year-to-date trends now flat compared to last year.

International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) members reported a balanced market for preowned business aircraft in the second quarter of 2024. Sales are steady and values of late model aircraft remain strong, according to IADA’s Second Quarter 2024 Market Report.

In Week 28 (8th – 14th July), total global business jet departures were down 2% compared to Week 28 in 2023, equal to the last 4-week trend of 2% decline. Global Part135 & 91K activity on par with W28 in 2023, the 4-week trend 1% ahead of last year. So far this year the global bizjet fleet has flown just under 3.2 million flight hours, 2% fewer than last year. Across the 15,600 active operators there have 25,000 active business jets flying from January 1st through to July 14th. The global bizjet fleet has had a fair start to July, departures flown just -0.5% behind comparable July last year.