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.
Global
In Week 39 (23rd – 29th September), there were 73,008 global business jet departures, 3% below Week 39 in 2024. There were sizeable declines in activity in hurricane-affected Florida and conflict-stricken Middle East. Nine months into the year, global bizjet sectors have surpassed the 2.7 million mark, 1% behind comparable last year, equivalent to 55,000 fewer sectors flown. The biggest increases compared to 2019 have come in Cessna, Bombardier and Embraer fleet operations.
Chart 1: Global business jet departures by OEM, January 1st – September 30th 2024.
North America
In Week 39, there were 51,336 bizjet departures departing North American airports, 2% below W39 in 2023. This marked an improvement on soft demand for much of September, with the US seeing 5% fewer bizjet departures over the last 4 weeks. Strong bizjet flight activity in Texas, up by 5% compared to Week 39 2023, contrasted with a 15% drop in flights in Florida, as a direct result of Hurricane Helene. Bizjet flights from California were down by 4%, weak but more resilient than the 9% downwards trend over the last 4 weeks.
Chart 2: Bizjet departures during Week 39, US States reportedly affected by Hurricane Helene (% change vs same dates last year).
Elsewhere, the United Nations general debates took place in New York between 24-28 and 30th September. During Week 38 (16th – 22nd September), Teterboro had an additional 200 bizjet arrivals compared to previous Week 37. Teterboro easily topped the rankings in terms of overall volume of bizjet departures in Week 38, although there was strong growth as well out of Dulles International, no doubt also UN-related. Westchester also had a boost in activity. By contrast, it was a weaker few days for bizjet hubs Van Nuys, Chicago Midway and Hobby airports.
Chart 3: Bizjet departures during Week 39, US airports, 2024 vs 2023 in Week 39
European Region
European bizjet activity in Week 39 came to just over 12,000 bizjet departures, some 25% of the same week’s activity in North America. Compared to the same week in 2023, the European bizjet market was back by 5%, weaker than its 4-week trend of negative 2%. Central and Southern Europe saw an abrupt year-on-year decline in demand, with 6% fewer flights from Germany and France 7% fewer flights, 11% decline in flights from Italy. The UK was an outlier, with a 5% bump in Week 38.
Year to date (1st January – 30th September), European bizjet sectors are down just 1% compared to last year, but only 5% up compared to 2019. Busiest European market is France, where activity is slightly behind the European wide trend. Despite Germany’s EUROS football boost during the summer, the year-to-date trend is 5% below comparable 2019. Domestic bizjet activity appears to be driving the decline in Germany, domestic departures falling 14% compared to year-to-date 2019. Corporate flight departments are flying almost a third less than 2019, branded charter activity 21% behind 2019. Germany’s down trends worsened in September, departures fell 8% year on year, falling 12% compared to September 2019.
Bizjet arrivals into Nice airport (LFMN) saw a noticeable uptick during the Monaco yacht show last week. During the event (25th – 28th September), for outbound bizjet flights from Nice, London metro airports were the top origin city, followed by Paris. The busiest aircraft type in operation on these routes was the Bombardier Challenger 350/300.
Chart 4: Monaco Yacht Show 2024
Rest of World
Outside the principal markets of North America and Europe, which comprised 87% of all flights in Week 39, the rest of the world saw 10,000 bizjet flights this week, 2% down on same week last year. There was considerable variance, with Africa and Middle East seeing substantially fewer flights, down almost 20%, with activity in Saudi Arabia and Israel subdued by the ongoing conflicts. In South America and Asia there were robust gains in bizjet activity, maintaining recent trends. For example, bizjet activity in South Asia was up by 25% in Q324.
Chart 5: Business jet departures by sub-region, Q3 2024 vs Q3 2023
