The aviation industry data intelligence company reported that in week 30—July 22-28—bizjet activity in France was up 17 percent compared to the same time last year. Europe has seen a 4 percent increase overall. Paris saw a 58 percent jump in bizjet arrivals compared to last year. 

“As predicted, the Olympics venues have attracted business jet arrivals from all over the world as dignitaries, heads of corporations, and celebrities flocked to the opening ceremony and sporting events,” said WingX managing director Richard Koe in the announcement. “The Olympics appear to be very popular with U.S. visitors, many coming via the UK. The Olympics bounce is helping the market recover from a relatively weak H124, with year-to-date trends now flat compared to last year.”

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Paris Le Bourget recorded 713 bizjet arrivals last week, up 53 percent over last year. New York saw a 200 percent increase in bizjet flights to Paris airports year over year. Vista Jet and NetJets lead flights from the United States to France, WingX found. 

On July 26, the day of the Olympics opening ceremony, 382 bizjet arrivals were recorded into French airports.

North America 

Florida, California, and Texas had the most bizjet departures in the U.S. Florida and California were each up 2 percent over last year, and Texas was up 1 percent. 

Bizjet departures were on par in week 30 compared to the same period last year in North America, with most activity originating in the U.S. 

Europe 

The United Kingdom saw a 10 percent increase in bizjet flights. 

Activity lags behind in popular European summer destinations. Bizjets to Mykonos, Greece, have fallen compared to five years ago, only ahead of 2020. Olbia, Italy, has been busier than any July in the last five years, while Ibiza and Mallorca, Spain, are behind the last three years.

Rest of World 

Bizjet activity declined outside of North America and Europe. Activity fell 16 percent in the Middle East in week 30 compared to last year, with notable declines in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

Africa saw a 23 percent drop in bizjet activity, with declines in South Africa cities Johannesburg and Cape Town, and Lagos, Nigeria. 

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The aviation data company reported that 72,223 business jets were flown around the globe in Week 11, ending March 17, a 1 percent drop compared to the previous week. Business jet and turboprop activity has risen 38 percent this year compared to 2019. 

WingX reported from January 1 through March 17: 

• 5.9 million scheduled operations flights, up 15.6 percent from last year. 
• 1.1 million business aviation flights, a jump of 2.1 percent from last year. 
• 225,170 cargo flights, down 2.2 percent from last year.

In the U.S., 49,406 business jets were flown in Week 11, a 2 percent increase from Week 11 in 2023. Business jet departures from the U.S. are 1 percent ahead of March last year and 31 percent ahead of 2019. 

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Florida has seen 20,353 business jet departures this month, up 4 percent over March last year. Texas is seeing 4 percent more departures over last March, while California has seen a small dip of less than 1 percent. 

Airports near popular spring break destinations in Florida are seeing growth, such as Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (KFLL), Miami International Airport (KMIA), Ocean Reef Club Airport (07FA), and Pompano Beach Airpark (KPMP). 

WingX reported from March 1 through March 17:

• Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (KOPF) saw 1,612 business jet arrivals, down 2.3 percent from last year but up 91.4 percent from 2019.
• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport had 1,187 business jet arrivals, up 16 percent  from last year and up 62.8 percent from 2019.
• Miami International Airport saw 919 business jet arrivals, up 8.5 percent from last year and a gain of 59.8 percent from 2019. 
• Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (KFXE) had 845 business jet arrivals, down 1.9 percent from last year but an increase of 48.8 percent from 2019. 
• Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (KECP) saw 429 business jet arrivals, down 7.3 percent from last year but up 88.2 percent from 2019. 

European business jet activity was down 4 percent in Week 11 compared to this time last year. Activity in France fell 11 percent year over year, while departures in Italy are up 16 percent. 

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WingX reported from March 1 through March 17:

• France saw 14,098 business jet departures, down 4.9 percent from last year and 2.6 percent from 2019.
• The U.K. had 13,033 business jet departures, down 1.2 percent from last year but up 2.7 percent from 2019.
• Germany saw 11,770 business jet departures, down 5.2 percent from last year and 9.8 percent from 2019.
• Switzerland had 9,003 business jet departures, down 3 percent from last year but up 7 percent from 2019.
• Italy saw 8,076 business jet departures, up 6.6 percent from last year and 27.5 percent from 2019. 

Business jet activity in the Middle East fell 32 percent in Week 11 compared to 2023. Activity in China is 44 percent ahead of last year. Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore are the top connections outside of mainland China, WingX reported. 

The post Report: Global Business Jet Activity Up 2 Percent appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The capacity for Q2 2024 is up about 4 percent over Q2 2019 for seats on international and domestic flights with about 1.51 billion seats on the schedule compared to 1.45 billion seats. 

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OAG found that the majority of regions have recovered capacity from 2019 except for Southeast Asia, Eastern and Central Europe, Southwest Pacific, and Southern Africa. 

OAG reported: 

• Southeast Asia had 128.7 million seats offered in Q2 2019 but only 114.2 million seats offered in Q2 2024, an 11.3 percent decrease. 
• Eastern and Central Europe had 59 million seats offered in Q2 2019 but only 50.9 million seats offered in Q2 2024, a 13.8 percent  decrease. 
• Southwest Pacific had 35.7 million seats offered in Q2 2019 but only 34.9 million seats offered in Q2 2024, a 2.1 percent decrease. 
• Southern Africa had 10.1 million seats offered in Q2 2019 but only 8.5 million seats offered in Q2 2024, a 15.5 percent decrease. 

The U.S. aviation market remains the largest in the world with 310.9 million seats scheduled for this Q2, a 6.5 percent increase over Q2 2019 when 291.8 million seats were offered. Of the top 10 country markets, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Indonesia haven’t recovered to Q2 2019 levels. 

OAG reported:

• Japan had 53.4 million seats offered in Q2 2019 but only 49.9 million seats offered in Q2 2024, a 6.5 percent decrease. 
• The U.K. had 47.7 million seats offered in Q2 2019 but only 47.2 million seats offered in Q2 2024, a 1 percent decrease.
• Germany had 42.1 million seats offered in Q2 2019 but only 35.6 million seats offered in Q2 2024, a 15.5 percent decrease.
• Indonesia had 37.7 million seats offered in Q2 2019 but only 34.6 million seats offered in Q2 2024, an 8 percent decrease. 

Germany’s global flight capacity decline can be attributed to travel pattern changes, reductions in domestic capacity, and one of the slowest long-haul market recoveries post-pandemic, OAG said. Japan relies on China for capacity and the operational challenge of Russian overflights for some airlines. 

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United Airlines is the top carrier by capacity, up 5.7 percent in Q2 2024 over Q2 2019, according to OAG, while Delta Air Lines and EasyJet have yet to exceed Q2 2019. 

OAG reported:

• Delta had 62.7 million seats offered in Q2 2019 but only 61.9 million seats offered in Q2 2024, a 1.3 percent decrease.
• EasyJet had 28.9 million seats offered in Q2 2019 but only 28.5 million seats offered in Q2 2024, a 1.2 percent decrease. 

The post Report: Global Airline Capacity Up Over Pre-Pandemic Levels appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

SpaceX launched Starship on November 18 and reached space before the vehicle’s upper stage was destroyed by an automated internal system just minutes into the test flight. The nearly 400-foot rocket reached space after launching from Texas with no one on board. The FAA launched its investigation after the explosion and shared Monday that the agency accepted SpaceX’s explanation of what went awry. 

The FAA said SpaceX identified 17 corrective actions to take, including:

• Vehicle hardware redesigns
• Updated control system modeling
• Reevaluation of engine analyses
• Updated engine control algorithms
• Operational changes
• Flammability analysis updates
• Installation of additional fire protection

The U.S. aerospace company offered its own update Monday, outlining the issues with Starship. SpaceX said the 33 Raptor engines powering its Super Heavy booster started correctly. After separation, “several” engines faltered and one shut down, “quickly cascading” as the booster exploded more than three and a half minutes into the flight, SpaceX said. The company reported that the most likely root cause of the booster failure was “determined to be filter blockage where liquid oxygen is supplied to the engines, leading to a loss of inlet pressure in engine oxidizer turbopumps.”

Starship’s upper stage successfully flew for about seven minutes before a leak occurred in the aft section of the spacecraft when the liquid oxygen vent was initiated, causing combustion and fires and knocking out communication between the spacecraft’s computers, the company said. The communication disruption shut down the upper stage’s six engines and initiated the automated flight termination system over the Gulf of Mexico. 

Ahead of the next launch, the FAA is requiring SpaceX to implement all corrective actions and receive a license modification from the agency. The FAA is evaluating SpaceX’s license modification request. 

The April launch of Starship also ended in a fiery explosion, but November’s test flight lasted nearly twice as long. The second test flight came after an FAA investigation and changes to Starship. 

Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket, has been selected to launch Starlab, the commercial space station venture between Voyager Space and Airbus. Starlab, which will host four crewmembers, is scheduled to launch before the International Space Station’s decommissioning near the end of the decade. 

The post FAA Closes Investigation Into SpaceX Starship Explosion appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Board chair Nicole Battjes and president and CEO James Viola said in a letter to VAI members that the name change was made to reflect the “wave of expansion” being ushered in by new aircraft and technology. They said the new moniker is part of a “transformative journey” but promised members the group’s commitment to the industry wouldn’t change. 

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“While our name and appearance have evolved, the most important change is our expanded focus,” the executives’ letter read. “We support all aircraft capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing—and yes, that absolutely includes helicopters. Those aircraft complete missions that no other aircraft can accomplish, and we are proud to represent them.”

The VAI leaders said the rebrand will better serve vertical aviation communities and enable the organization to better work with legislators and regulators. 

With the change also comes a new name for the organization’s annual conference and trade show, which will now be called VERTICON. 

The post HAI Rebrands as Vertical Aviation International appeared first on FLYING Magazine.