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.
Global
In Week 35 (26th August – 1st September), there were 66,128 business jet sectors flown globally, 2% below Week 35 in 2023. Part 135 & 91K activity fell 3% compared to Week 35 last year, with 33,825 sectors flown globally. Year to date (1st January – 31st August), global bizjet activity is 1% behind last year, just over 2.4 million departures in the first 8 months of this year. Over two thirds of global activity is from the United States, where the year-to-date trend is 1% below last year. Globally, August bizjet activity has fallen 2% year on year.
Chart 1: Global business jet departures and hours trends, January – August 2024
North America
In Week 35, there were 44,423 bizjet departures departing North American airports, 1% below the same week in 2023. There were 42,763 bizjet departures from the dominant US market, 1% below Week 35 in 2023. The Labor Day celebrations were evident as activity dropped 9% compared to the previous week (Week 34). Florida saw large gains in Week 35, 12% increase year on year, clearly due to a higher-than-usual Labor Day influx. Activity in Texas was on par with Week 35 last year, California fell 1%.
Fractional operators finished August ahead of the last 5 years, departures beating last August by 12%. In contrast, Corporate Flight Activity fell 14% year on year, 23% fewer departures than August 2019.
Over the Friday – Sunday (30th August – 1st September) Labor Day weekend, 15698 bizjet departures were recorded across US airports, down 1% compared to the same Friday – Sunday prior to the 2023 holiday and 2% below the 2022 holiday. Teterboro (KTEB), saw 3% fewer departures this year compared to the holiday weekend last year, on par with 2022.Nantucket was the top destination for bizjets departing KTEB during this year’s holiday weekend, 14 flights recorded, 2 more than comparable last year. Flights to Martha’s Vineyard saw a drop off, just 4 from KTEB, down from 9 last year.
Chart 2: Business Jet vs Scheduled airline activity, weekend prior to Labor Day (30th August – 1st September 2024)
European Region
In Week 35, European bizjet activity dropped 4% compared to the same week last year, in contrast to August’s activity which finished on par with last year due to the Olympic boost. The year-to-date trend through the end of August is now -1% compared to last year. In Week 35 there was significant downturn in the top European markets, UK and Switzerland fell 8% compared to last year, Germany and France fell 6% compared to last year.
France topped the European bizjet market in August, 8,616 recorded departures, 5% more than last year, flight hours over 12% higher than last year. Just 3 countries in the top 10 busiest in August saw year on year declines, namely Italy -1%, Germany – 5% and Sweden -6%. Typically school and business holidays fuel leisure related travel during August in Europe. Thursdays were the busiest departure day for bizjets, with weekend flying noticeably higher than weekdays. On average, Fridays in August saw almost 3,000 more daily bizjet departures than Tuesday, the least busy day of the week.
Chart 3: Business Jet departures during August 2024, Europe, by flight hour band.
Cessna manufactured bizjets flew almost twice as many departures in August compared to second ranked Bombardier. Bombardier, Embraer and Pilatus enjoyed strong gains in activity compared to last year and August 5 years ago. Notably, Dassault and Gulfstream jets flew fewer average hours per tail sign than the region wide average in August, in contrast Embraer bizjets recorded 13 more hours per tail sign compared to the region average.
Chart 4: European Bizjet departures by OEM, August 2024
Rest of World
Outside of the US and Europe, the rest of the world saw large declines in Week 35, South America the exception. Bizjet activity outside of the US and Europe fell 6% compared to August last year, fairing slightly better than the year-to-date trend of -6%. In August, the busiest country in the ROW region was Canada, with a 3% dip in year-on-year activity. China finished behind August last year, the Bahamas having the weakest August since 2020. In August bizjet sectors in the UAE finished on par with last year, contrast Saudi Arabia, sectors fell 38%.
Chart 5: Departures by weekday through August 2024, bizjet activity outside of the United States and Europe.
