Business aviation flying in the U.S. and Canada was positive for the first half of this year, with five of the first six months seeing year-over-year increases, according to Argus’s newly released midyear business aviation review. Year-to-date business aircraft movements ticked up 3.1 percent from 2015, while flight hours have climbed 2.7 percent.
Activity continued to be strong in the Part 91 and 135 segments in the first half, the company said, while the fractional industry experienced “slight growth.” Part 91 flying, which makes up more than half of all business aviation activity, soared 3.4 percent during the first half of the year—a trend that Argus expects to continue in the second half. Part 135 flight activity also rose by 3.4 percent year-over-year in the first six months, and fractional flying eked out a 0.5-percent gain.
Diving deep into its TraqPak data of IFR business aviation flights in the U.S. and Canada, Argus said that Thursday continues to be the busiest day of the week for business aviation flights, followed by Wednesday and Friday. In fact, nine of the top 10 busiest business aviation flying days were on a Thursday, according to the review.
Looking ahead, Argus analysts predict that business aviation flying in the two North American countries will increase 3.4 percent in the third quarter versus a year ago.