Business Aviation Flight Activity at Highest Levels Since 2008, JSSI Releases Q3 Business Aviation Index

- Five consecutive years of average flight hour growth

- Third quarter most active period for business jets

- Asia, Africa and South America report significant increases

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Oct 26, 2017, 10:38 ET

CHICAGO, Oct. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI), the world's leading independent provider of maintenance support and financial services to the business aviation industry, has released its latest Business Aviation Index for the third quarter of 2017. According to the index, which tracks utilization of approximately 2,000 business aircraft worldwide, average flight hours have reached levels not seen since the economic downturn of 2008.

Key take-away stats from Q3 JSSI Business Aviation Index

The third quarter follows a steady increase in flight activity throughout the year and was the most active period in 2017. Average flight hours increased 4.5 percent year-to-date and key regional markets around the world, including Asia, Africa and South America, also reported strong year-to-date flight hour activity.

"The summer months are consistently the strongest period of the year for flight activity. Our Business Aviation Index has now shown a year-over-year increase in third-quarter flight activity for five consecutive years," said Neil W. Book, president and chief executive officer of JSSI. "These are encouraging signs that companies are leveraging corporate jets to conduct business around the world. It's also promising to see such growth in regional diversity coming from markets outside North America and Europe."

The JSSI Business Aviation Index tracks and reports on the global flight activity and utilization of business aircraft worldwide, 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 by global region, industry and cabin type. This ultimately provides useful insights into the state of global economic conditions.

Key findings in the third-quarter data include:

Overall flight hours increased 4.5 percent year-to-date and 2.4 percent year-over-year since the third quarter of 2016. Average aircraft utilization of 29.11 hours in the third quarter represents the highest level since flight hours averaged over 30 hours in late 2008.
When broken down by industry, the largest increases across nine industries were seen in the aviation and manufacturing industries, with quarter-over-quarter increases of 8.3 percent and 6 percent respectively. There was a 12.7 percent decrease in the consumer goods industry and an 8 percent decrease in the real estate sector.
Of the seven regions tracked in the index, only North America showed a decrease in aircraft utilization quarter-over-quarter, with a 0.9 percent drop in flight hours. Activity in South America increased by 8.3 percent and Asia-Pacific by 8.6 percent.
All regions increased flight hours year-over-year, with the exception of the Middle East and Europe. South America increased 7.1 percent, Central America increased 8.6 percent, and Africa reported the largest increase at 33.2 percent.
Flight activity in North America increased 5.1 percent year-to-date, with an increase of 1.6 percent year-over-year.

For a full copy of the JSSI Business Aviation Index, visit https://jetsupport.com/insights/.

About Jet Support Services, Inc.
For nearly 30 years, Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI), has been the leading independent provider of maintenance programs to the business aviation industry, covering virtually all makes and models of business aircraft, engines, and APUs. JSSI provides its customers with comprehensive, flexible and affordable financial programs and tools for managing the often unpredictable costs of operating and maintaining nearly all types of turbine-powered aircraft, including business and commercial jets, turboprops and helicopters. As the creator of the revolutionary Tip-to-Tail^® Program, JSSI is the only single source provider of this trademarked service. JSSI serves customers globally and manages maintenance services through its worldwide infrastructure of certified technical advisors.

Other JSSI Services:

JSSI Parts gives clients the advantage of JSSI buying power and expertise as the single largest purchaser of parts and maintenance services in the business aviation industry.
Jet Engine Leasing offers engine- and APU-leasing solutions. JSSI owns several rental assets for hard-to-locate platforms and can source rental assets for almost anything that flies.
AMP is JSSI's dedicated Asset Monitoring Platform (AMP), available to business aviation lenders as a tool to assist in the mitigation of risk and the management of financed aircraft.
JSSI Advisory Services utilizes JSSI's technical expertise and global network to inspect your aircraft, perform an ASA-certified appraisal, or manage your next maintenance event.

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