Business aircraft activity in the U.S. has been climbing for the past 10 straight months and is set to continue this trend in the fourth quarter, according to aviation services company Argus. In fact, the company is predicting that flying in the quarter will rise 0.7 percent year-over-year, which would result in this year besting 2013 by 1.5 percent and making 2014 the “most robust” year for flight activity since 2008.
It forecasts an increase of 0.9 percent and 1.4 percent for October and November, respectively, but the December forecast so far indicates a 0.3-percent decline from the same month last year. Breaking down the fourth-quarter forecast into the main operational categories, Argus foresees Part 91 flights climbing by 0.6 percent; Part 135, up 0.1 percent; and fractional, up 2.6 percent.
The company is also estimating 49,460 business aviation flights for Thanksgiving travel this year between November 25 and December 1, which would be up 1.8 percent year-over-year. To date, the top-three bookings for U.S. business aircraft flights over Thanksgiving are New York City to South Florida, Southern California to Las Vegas and New York City to Southern California.