Business Aviation Index Indicates Global Market Growth With Flight Activity Up 4 Percent

Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI), a provider of maintenance support and financial services to the business aviation industry, has released its 2013 year-end Business Aviation Index, which tracks the number of hours that business aircraft have flown by region, industry and aircraft type.

The Manufacturing, Power & Energy and Real Estate industries all posted impressive gains, while the Construction, Financial Services and Healthcare industries contracted. However, when looking at the data by region, business aviation experienced growth in virtually every market, both on an annual and quarterly basis.

"The global growth in flight hours is a positive indicator for the health of both the aviation industry and the economy as a whole. When viewed by region, the data is generally consistent with macroeconomic trends across the globe. Business aviation continues its strong rebound in the U.S., with 6 percent year-over-year growth and 7 percent quarter-over-quarter growth," said Neil Book, President & CEO, JSSI. "Although European flight hours were down from the third quarter, flight activity for our European-based clients is still up 12 percent over Q4 2012," said Mr. Book.

Emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa were up by over 20 percent since last year, while flight hours in Latin America remained flat.

Finally, observing business aviation activity by aircraft type provides insight as to exactly how the business community is flying. "It is encouraging to see growth from single engine turboprops to large cabin aircraft. This tells us that businesses large and small, along with the owner/operator community, are flying their airplanes again. As the global economy has recovered, we initially saw hesitation from businesses to start flying again. We're now seeing this hesitation dissipate. It also doesn't hurt that the Obama administration's negative rhetoric toward the business aviation community has quieted somewhat in his second term. We look forward to seeing how the business aviation industry grows and evolves throughout 2014 and beyond both in the U.S. and around the globe," said Book.

FMI: www.jetsupport.com