Business aircraft activity decreased 0.6 percent year-over-year in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean last month, marking the first August since 2014 not to see an uptick, according to TraqPak data released yesterday by Argus International. This was largely in line with Argus’s expectation of a 0.3 percent drop in August; the company is predicting a 4.9 percent increase in flying this month.

Only fractional operations saw an increase last month, with the category climbing by 5.5 percent year-over-year. Part 91 flying was off by 1.8 percent from a year ago, while Part 135/charter activity dropped 1.1 percent.

Aircraft categories saw erosion at the bottom and the top ends, with growth in the middle. On the lower side, turboprop flying slid 3.8 percent year-over-year; on the upper tier, large-cabin jet activity was down by 2 percent. Meanwhile, light- and midsize-jet flying rose 1.9 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

In individual categories, Argus reported that fractional light- and midsize-jet activity experienced double-digit year-on-year increases, rising 12.5 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively. Conversely, fractional turboprop and large-cabin jet activity saw double-digit losses from August 2018, falling 10.9 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively.

Weekday flights rose by 0.7 percent, while weekend traffic fell 0.8 percent, according to Argus. The U.S. Southeast once again led all departures, at 51,939, followed by the Great Lakes region at 37,003.