ACE 2026 - September 8th
The bimonthly news publication for aviation professionals.
Business jet activity in the United States appears to have remained strong over Thanksgiving week 2025, with projections indicating around 48,000 flights taking place between 24 and 30 November. This figure follows a consistent trend of 3% year-on-year growth seen in previous years, and while it falls short of the weekly 2025 average of 50,000 flights, it reflects the seasonal dip as travellers shift focus from business to family time.
According to WingX’s Global Market Tracker, Week 47 (17–23 November) saw more than 80,000 global business jet departures, a 7% increase compared to the same week in 2024. Over the past four weeks, global departures exceeded 313,000, an 8% rise on the same period last year and ahead of the year-to-date trend of 5%.
North American activity matched the global pace with 7% growth in Week 47, led by the US, where activity rose 8%. State-level increases included 11% more flights in Texas, 9% in Florida and 5% in California. North America’s rolling four-week growth stands at 8%, with Florida leading at 10% and California and Texas each up 9%.
In Europe, growth was more modest, with a 2% year-on-year increase in Week 47. Switzerland stood out with a 12% gain, while Germany rose 3%. France and the UK saw flat activity, and Italy posted a 1% decline. However, on a four-week rolling basis, Italy leads at 6% growth, while France declined 2%.
The rest of the world saw an 18% increase in Week 47. South America was up 29%, Africa 28%, the Middle East 11% and Asia 7%. Seletar and Hong Kong were among the best performers, with business jet traffic up 10% and 25% respectively so far this month.
Geneva arrivals rose 10% ahead of upcoming peace talks, totalling 253 jets in Week 47. Most arrivals were operated by aircraft management companies, followed by fractional programmes. Light jets were the busiest category, ahead of ultra long range jets.
Meanwhile, NetJets president Patrick Gallagher says the company has pre-sold “well over half” of the aircraft it expects to receive in 2026. Year-to-date, NetJets has flown over 450,000 flights through 23 November, up 11% on 2024 and 64% above pre-COVID 2019 levels.
The company will retire its Citation Excel/XLS jet card programme in December as it prepares to bring the Citation Ascend into service, following its FAA certification. The Excel/XLS fleet has accounted for 7% of NetJets’ total flying this year.
