Global Private Jet Departures Up 3% Year-Over-Year in Week 40 of 2026, Totaling Nearly 80,000 Flights

Global private jet departures totaled nearly 80,000 in week 40 of 2026, up approximately 3% compared with the same week in 2025, though down about 3% from the previous week. Over the most recent four-week period, global departures reached nearly 330,000, also up roughly 3% year-over-year. WingX analyst Nick Koscinski said global activity was up 2.6% last week and, with no Ryder Cup in last year's comparable numbers, called it "a fair read of where demand really is," adding that "the U.S. did almost all of the work, and fractional operators are still the ones driving it, while charter has now been soft for two weeks in a row." He also noted the Gulf is back near its best levels since February but still a fifth below last year, while Mexico continues to lag.

North America recorded 57,359 total flights, the largest regional share of global activity, with the United States accounting for more than 55,000 of those flights, a 4% year-over-year increase but a 2% week-over-week decline. California, Texas, and Florida each posted slight positive year-over-year results, while smaller-market states drove the largest gains; Texas fell 9% week-over-week, the primary driver of the U.S. sequential decline. Europe recorded 12,646 departures, up approximately 2% year-over-year but down 4% week-over-week, with Italy leading at 15% year-over-year growth and Germany and France also posting gains, while France and Switzerland saw double-digit weekly declines alongside drops in the UK, Germany, and Italy.

The Middle East recorded more than 1,300 departures, down roughly 12% year-over-year; Asia fell 4% and South America fell 1% year-over-year, while Africa posted the largest regional year-over-year gain at approximately 27%. Combined Part 91K and Part 135 operators globally flew nearly 43,000 flights, up 5% year-over-year and roughly flat week-over-week. In the United States, these operators recorded 32,424 flights, up approximately 7% year-over-year, driven in part by an 11% jump in Texas, and essentially flat versus week 39. In Europe, Part 91K and Part 135 operations totaled more than 8,500 flights, roughly flat year-over-year, with Italy posting a 14% year-over-year gain offsetting slight declines in the UK, France, and Switzerland. The Middle East saw the steepest year-over-year decline in fractional and charter activity at 18%, Asia was down 14%, while South America recorded 60% more fractional and charter flights than in week 40 of 2025.

Week-to-week regional swings like Texas's 9% drop or France and Switzerland's double-digit weekly declines illustrate how concentrated single-market moves can shift an entire region's headline number even when the underlying year-over-year trend is positive. Removing a one-off event like the Ryder Cup from the prior-year base, as Koscinski did, is itself a reminder that short-period comparisons in business aviation are sensitive to calendar effects and large recurring gatherings, not just organic demand shifts.

The data points to a structural divergence between fractional and charter operators: Part 91K and Part 135 flying grew 5% globally and 7% in the United States, while Koscinski described charter as soft for two consecutive weeks. That split suggests fractional programs are currently absorbing more of the demand growth than on-demand charter bookings, a distinction that matters for how operators plan aircraft positioning and crew scheduling. Regionally, the Middle East's recovery toward levels last seen in February, even while still a fifth below last year, alongside continued softness in Mexico, marks two specific threads worth tracking as the new weekly comparisons settle out over coming periods.