WINGX Global Market Tracker:

US poised for record Thanksgiving bizjet activity

The United States is poised for robust business jet activity during Thanksgiving week 2025 (24-30 Nov), with projections indicating approximately 48,000 business jet flights.

Historical patterns show consistent 3% year-over-year growth during Thanksgiving week, with 2024 recording nearly 47,000 flights, 2023 tallying approximately 45,000, and 2022 reaching more than 44,000.

Following this trend, the projected 48,000 flights would slightly trail the typical 50,000 weekly flights the US has averaged throughout 2025, reflecting the traditional holiday pattern where business aviation activity moderates as travelers prioritize family time over business commitments.

Busiest US city flows Thanksgiving 2024.

click image to enlarge

Global Executive Summary

In Week 47 (17-23 Nov) 2025, global bizjet activity recorded more than 80,000 departures, 7% more flights than in Week 47 of 2024. On a rolling last four-week basis (W44-W47), global business jets have logged more than 313,000 departures, an 8% increase compared to the same period last year. This four-week trend of 8% is outperforming the global year-to-date (1 Jan-23 Nov) trend of 5%.

Regional Performance Analysis

North America: Texas surges 11% as region posts 7% growth
The North American market performed in line with the global trend at 7% more activity in W47 year-on-year, while the region’s growth driver, the US market, saw an 8% increase in flights. Airports in Texas have seen an 11% surge in flights this week, while Florida and California posted 9% and 5% gains respectively. North America’s rolling four-week trend now sits at 8% ahead of the comparable period in 2024. Among the key states, Florida leads the four-week trend at 10%, while California and Texas both sit at 9%.

Europe: Sluggish 2% growth as France trends negative
European market grew at a sluggish 2% pace in Week 47 compared to last year, while growth on a country level was a mixed bag: Switzerland realized strong 12% double digit gain, flights in Germany were up 3%; activity in UK and France was flat; bizjet flights from Italy were down 1% YOY Europe’s four-week trend (W44-W47) now sits 4% ahead of the comparable period last year, led by the Italy’s four-week trend of 6%, while activity in France has now dipped below the four-week trend, -2% compared to last year.

Rest of World: South America and Africa both near 30% gains
In other regions, bizjet activity was up by 18% in Week 47 YOY, the ROW region accounting for 10% of global bizjet departures in W47. Airports in South America saw bizjet flight activity up by 29%, followed by Africa, departures up by 28%. Airports in the Middle East saw 11% growth in bizjet sectors, and across Asia, 7% growth. Major hubs in the region such as Seletar and Hong Kong are well ahead of last year, so far this month bizjet departures are up 10% & 25% YOY respectively. On a rolling four-week basis South America leads ROW market growth at 22%, followed by Africa (20%), the Middle East (11%), and Asia (10%).

Current Events Analysis

Peace talks in Geneva to end Russia-Ukraine war
Ahead of peace talks in Geneva this week, bizjet arrivals into Geneva airport are 10% ahead of last November, 253 bizjet arrivals were recorded in Week 47, up from 241 in Week 46. In Week 47, Aircraft Management companies recorded the most arrivals, followed by Fractional programmes. Across the aircraft types, light jets were the busiest, followed by Ultra Long Range jets.

NetJets pre-sells half of 2026 fleet amid 11% growth
NetJets President Patrick Gallagher recently announced that the fractional operator has pre-sold "well over half" of the private jets it expects to receive in 2026, signaling continued strong demand for the fractional ownership model. This robust order book comes as NetJets maintains impressive operational momentum, having flown more than 450,000 flights year-to-date through 23 November, an 11% increase over 2024 and a remarkable 64% surge compared to pre-COVID 2019 levels.

The pre-sales announcement coincides with NetJets' decision to retire its Citation Excel/XLS jet card program in mid-December, positioning the fleet for the upcoming Citation Ascend, which recently received FAA certification. The Excel/XLS platform has accounted for 7% of NetJets' total flight activity in 2025, suggesting the transition to the Ascend represents a significant fleet modernization effort as NetJets remains the dominant leader in the fractional market.

WINGX GmbH
Lilienstraße 11
20095 Hamburg
Germany.

+49 40 23 96 85 05

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 27th November 2025 | Issue #821