Travel by private jet grows worldwide as fractional flying surges
Global business aviation activity increased 4.2% during the first half of 2026, with fractional operations leading growth in North America, according to new data from ARGUS International.
Business aircraft completed 2.44 million departures worldwide from January through June, with activity increasing in each of the first six months of the year.
North America remained the center of global business aviation activity, accounting for 65% of all departures. Operators completed 1.77 million flights in the region, up 3.5% from the same period in 2025 and the highest first-half total recorded during the past four years.
The result also placed North American activity 15.4% above the level recorded during the first half of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global aviation.
Fractional operations posted the strongest growth in North America, climbing 11.7% and adding 38,808 flights compared with the first half of 2025.
Charter activity increased 3.1%, while private operations edged up 0.3%. Private flying remained the largest operational segment, accounting for 42.9% of North American activity.
Three of the four aircraft categories tracked by ARGUS recorded growth.
Light jet activity increased 6.1%, the strongest result among the aircraft categories. Turboprop flying rose 4.3%, while midsize jet operations climbed 3.2%.
Large-cabin jets represented the only declining category, with activity falling 1.8% from the first half of 2025.
“Business aviation has many signs of a strong, growing industry across the globe,” ARGUS International Senior Vice President of Software Travis Kuhn said. “There are areas of concern that can certainly change, but as we wrap up first-half 2026, we are in about the strongest place we could expect to be.”
Europe, the world’s second-largest business aviation market, recorded a 1.6% increase during the first half after activity recovered from a slow start to the year. European countries together accounted for slightly more than 14% of global departures.
Canada ranked second behind the US among individual countries, accounting for 4.8% of worldwide business aviation activity.
ARGUS also found that Thursday remained the busiest day of the week for business aviation, averaging 11,201 flights during the first half of the year. Saturday recorded the lowest activity, with an average of 7,545 flights.
The company expects North American business aviation activity to increase another 2.2% during the second half of 2026.
However, ARGUS identified rising jet fuel prices, geopolitical uncertainty and weakness in large-cabin jet activity as potential risks during the remainder of the year.
“All signs point to a positive finish in the second half of the year, but we will monitor large-cabin jet activity, along with global traffic closely, as that could weigh down an otherwise healthy market,” Kuhn said.The post Travel by private jet grows worldwide as fractional flying surges appeared first on AeroTime.
Global business aviation activity increased 4.2% during the first half of 2026, with fractional operations leading growth in…
The post Travel by private jet grows worldwide as fractional flying surges appeared first on AeroTime.
