For the first time in three months, business flight activity increased from its previous month in North America. However, business aviation flights in October for North America lagged behind 2021.

October tends to be at the top of the charts for activity each year, and this past month finished 0.3% ahead of September, according to the latest data from ARGUS TRAQPak. The number of business aviation flights globally finished down 3.2% and 4.9% in North America.

However, the 2022 number is still 13.4% higher in North America than it was in October 2019. The European market was down 10% in October compared to 2021.

 “October’s flight activity landscape is indicative of transition,” said Travis Kuhn, senior vice president of market intelligence for ARGUS. “On one side of the coin we’re up double digits from October 2019 and on the other side we’re down from last year’s all-time high. Additionally, Europe is slowing but it is actually following more of its normal pre-COVID trend so it is too early to tell if other factors are influencing the flight activity volume on the continent. In the short term we expect to see some additional declines primarily related to seasonal adjustments in activity.”

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Kuhn noted that October tends to be among the strongest months for business aviation, as it is a 31-day month with no major holidays and generally much of North America does not see snow in the month. It also helps that it is the only month where all six major pro sports are active.

Historically, the following March generally hits similar numbers as October in the prior year, with the following October outgaining it, Kuhn said.

However, March remains the strongest month in 2022 for business flights, something Kuhn sees as a flattening of the post-pandemic growth curve. October 2021 remains the strongest month on record for business aviation flights.

“These are still significant numbers,” he told GlobalAir.com.

Much of the drop was in the Part 135 segment, down 10.6% year to year in October. However, it was up 6.7% from September.

NBAA regions in the south and west saw gains, as the northern part of the country slowed down. The southeast led with a 22.4% gain, while New England slid 14.6%.

For November, ARGUS TRAQPak forecasts a 1.4% decrease in overall North American flights, year to year, with European activity is estimated expected decrease 11.1% from November 2021.