Cincinnati, Ohio’s Aviation Research Group/U.S., Inc. (ARGUS) tracks all IFR arrivals and departures in the Unites States—including Alaska and Hawaii—and it observed signs of economic recovery. Last month, ARGUS said that business aircraft activity increased by 3.15 percent over the previous month (October 2009).
Comparing November 2009 with November 2008, ARGUS said activity was up by 22.7 percent. This comparison showed that FAR Part 91 activity was up by 26.8 percent for turboprops; 20.1 percent for large-cabin jets; 16.3 percent for mid-sized jets; and 8.1 percent for small jets. Total FAR Part 91 activity was up by 18.3 percent.
Again, comparing November 2008 with November 2009, FAR Part 135 activity was up 34.1 percent, and fractional activity was up by 21.2 percent. ARGUS estimates that month-by-month activity over the past 12 months is up by an average of 2.08 percent per month.
While these comparisons are encouraging, there is reason to be less than exuberant. ARGUS also calculates that total flight activity for the period December 2008 to November 2009 was off by 14.7 percent compared to the December 2007 to November 2008 time frame.
