“We are very encouraged to see that flight hours are at their highest levels since the early days of 2008,” said Neil W. Book, JSSI’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The two quarters of sustained growth that we have seen gives reason to be positive about the overall health of the global economy in 2017.”

The JSSI Business Aviation Index tracks and reports on the global flight activity and utilization of close to 2,000 business aircraft, including jets, turboprops and helicopters. Unlike commercial aviation, which is largely driven by consumer spending, business aviation is a tool needed for efficient travel to conduct core business activities. The report calculates the average flight hours flown per aircraft on a monthly basis and organizes this data into several key categories. The index tracks flight hours for business aircraft by global region, industry and cabin type, providing insights into the state of global economic conditions.

Key findings in the second-quarter 2017 report include:

• Overall flight hours have increased 5.2 percent since the first quarter of 2017 and increased 8.5 percent this year, when compared with the second quarter of 2016. Average aircraft utilization of 28.70 hours in the second quarter of 2017 represents the highest level since flight hours averaged over 30 hours in late 2008.
• When broken down by industry, the largest increases since the first quarter of 2017 were seen in the construction sector, with a 15.6 percent increase; followed by the power and energy sector, with a 12.6 percent increase. The largest decrease was in the manufacturing sector, with a 7.6 percent reduction in flight activity.
• In regional flight activity, the two largest increases in flight hours since the first quarter of 2017 were Africa, with a 9 percent increase, and Europe, with an 18.2 percent increase. The largest decrease was the Asia-Pacific region, with a 16.2 percent drop in flight activity.
• In year-over-year comparisons, the second quarter of 2017 was strong across almost all regions. Only Asia-Pacific reported a reduction in aircraft utilization, with a 1.3 percent decrease in activity. Africa was the strongest region in this period, with a 34.5 percent increase in flight hours.
• Flight activity in North America remained modest in the second quarter of 2017, with a slight decrease of 0.4 percent reported quarter-over-quarter and an overall year-over-year increase of 8 percent. A consistently strong business environment in North America continues to maintain a relatively level trend in flight hours.