Business aviation activity in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean rebounded last month after posting a decrease in December, according to the latest TraqPak data from Argus International. Flying climbed 0.7 percent year-over-year in January, in line with Argus’s forecast for 0.6 percent growth. The company is a little more optimistic about February, estimating a 1.1 percent rise.

By operational category, Part 91K fractional flying once again took the lead, posting a solid 4.9 percent gain from a year ago, followed by a 1-percent increase in Part 91. But Part 135/charter activity—a stalwart frontrunner in recent years—declined for the eighth consecutive month, falling 0.9 percent from a year earlier.

Flight activity by aircraft category was bifurcated by size, with only midsize and large-cabin jets seeing year-on-year improvements—climbing 5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. Turboprops fell 1.8 percent, while light jet flying dropped off by 0.9 percent compared with January 2018.

For the second month in a row, the only double-digit gain in individual categories was that for fractional midsize jets, which rose 13 percent year-over-year last month, after a similarly impressive 10 percent gain in December. Meanwhile, fractional large-cabin jet flying fell 19 percent from a year earlier, logging the only double-digit loss last month.

Weekday flying was up 2.2 percent last month, while weekend flying fell 4.4 percent, Argus said. The U.S. Southeast region continued its lead, with 59,153 business aircraft departures in January, followed by 35,978 departures in the Western region.