Business Aviation Flight Activity Continues to Rise

Business aircraft flight activity was 4.9 percent higher last month than in the same month in 2009, according to data from aviation-services firm Argus. Midsize jets showed the largest gain, with activity up 10 percent from June 2009, followed by light jets (up 5.8 percent), large-cabin jets (up 2.5 percent) and turboprops (up 0.7 percent). By operator type, fractional flights gained the most (up 6.7 percent), followed by Part 91 operations (up 4.7 percent) and Part 135 charter operations (up 4.3 percent). The biggest activity gains were recorded for midsize jets at charter operators, which were up 18.9 percent; and fractional turboprops, which were up 15.6 percent, mainly due to expanded business at Avantair. The Argus data reflects serial-number-specific aircraft arrival and departure information on all instrument-flight-rules flights in the U.S.