There were 67,311 business aviation flights in Europe last month, and while this was a “seasonal leap” of 9 percent over May, it was still down 0.9 percent from a year ago, according to data released today by business aviation research and consulting firm WingX Advance. “June’s decline completed a negative second quarter and means year-to-date flight activity [in Europe] is 0.4 percent lower than in 2013,” it noted.
France, Europe’s largest market for business aircraft departures, was up year-over-year, WingX said, as were the UK and Spain by “substantial margins.” Other smaller markets, such as Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Greece, also saw more flight activity. Business aircraft flying in Germany slumped by 6.5 percent year-over-year, attributable mainly to a drop in domestic flights. In addition, tensions in Russia and Ukraine caused flights from these countries to continue to fall “heavily” last month.
European business jet and piston activity in June was down from a year ago, but turboprop activity was up thanks to an increase in owner flights. Jet fleet activity was “well up” in certain markets, notably the UK, Poland and Italy, WingX said.
Intra-European flights also made gains, especially from Southern Europe, and are in positive territory for the year. The decline in country connection activity comes from the CIS, with flights down 24 percent last month and down 11 percent year-to-date.
