North American business aviation flight activity in the first half of this year was 1.7 percent higher than in the first six months of last year, according to a midyear review released July 14 by aviation services group Argus International. The company’s data indicated that there were 1,396,001 flights during the first six months of this year–22,858 more than in the same period last year and 42,653 more than in the first half of 2013. On a rolling 12-month snapshot, flights were up 2.2 percent when compared with the July 2013 to June 2014 time frame.

“The theme for the last few years has been slow growth, but we’re now beginning to see that growth accelerate slightly,” Argus said in the report. “Year-over-year flight activity has risen for the last four months and 18 of the last 19 months.”

By operator, Part 135 charter activity climbed 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, while flying at Part 91 operations, the largest segment in terms of volume, rose 1.8 percent. Fractional flight activity was largely flat, eking out a 0.3-percent gain over the last 12 months. The fractional industry has struggled this year, with every month recording a year-over-year decline, Argus noted.

Large-cabin flying continued to post the largest gains, climbing 5.1 percent in the last 12 months. Light and midsize jets posted gains of 2.3 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, over the past year, while turboprop flying climbed by 1.3 percent.

According to Argus, the top-five most-flown aircraft types in the first half were the Hawker 700/750/800/850/800XP/900XP, at 79,980 flight hours; Beechjet 400/400A/400XP, 52,895 hours; Gulfstream IV/G400/G450/G300/G350, 50,267 hours; King Air 200 series, 43,917 hours; and Citation Excel/XLS/XLS+, 42,556 hours.

The top-five business aviation airports in the U.S. in the first six months were Teterboro, N.J., with 26,202 departures; Van Nuys, Calif., 11,866 departures; Westchester County in White Plains, N.Y., 10,631 departures; Las Vegas McCarran, 9,814 departures; and Houston Hobby, 8,831 departures.

Argus predicts that flight activity in the third quarter will be up 1.9 percent year-over-year. It also expects recent trends to continue and all of the growth to come from the Part 91 and Part 135 markets, with a decline in fractional flying anticipated in the quarter. The forecast estimates a strong rise in turboprop and large-cabin jet activity at 3.1 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively, in the quarter.

Argus assembles its data by logging serial-number-specific aircraft arrival and departure information on all IFR flights in the U.S. and Canada.