Jet Support Services, Inc (JSSI) has released its Business Aviation Index for the third quarter of 2018. The index tracks utilisation of approximately 2,000 business aircraft worldwide and reports average flight hours flown on a monthly basis by region, industry and cabin type. For the second consecutive quarter, average flight hours exceeded the 30-hour ceiling and reached levels not seen in the last ten years.

“This positive trend in aircraft utilisation demonstrates a high level of confidence in current economic conditions," says president and CEO Neil W Book. "The continued growth this year, with back-to-back quarters of flight hour averages not seen since 2008 and a year-over-year increase of 5.7 per cent, is a testament to today's demand for private travel."

Additionally the helicopter industry continued to rebound in 2018, with a 21.9 per cent rise in average flight hours in the third quarter, while of the nine industries analysed, six reported an increase and three reported a decrease in quarter-over-quarter flight activity. The largest growth was in the healthcare sector, which saw a 7.9 per cent increase in flight activity compared to the second quarter of 2018. The construction industry reported growth of 4.0 per cent, while the business services sector, the power and energy segment and the aviation sector saw rises of 2.6 per cent, 2.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively. The financial services industry increased by 1.6 per cent.

The largest year-over-year decreases in flight activity were seen in the manufacturing sector, with an 11.8 per cent reduction, and in the real estate sector, which reported a decrease of 9.9 per cent.

Seven key regions were sampled in the index. Significant quarter-over-quarter increases were reported in the Middle East, with a 39.4 per cent rise in average flight hours. Africa reversed its negative trend for the year with an increase of 37.6 per cent. South America also experienced growth of 11.4 per cent for the quarter. By contrast Central America witnessed a drop in average flight hours of 15.7 per cent, Asia Pacific a fall of 8.7 per cent, and Europe ended the quarter with a 1.4 per cent decrease.

North America flight hours grew by 1.6 per cent quarter over quarter and 6.8 per cent year over year, and overall average flight hours increased 5.7 per cent.