WINGX Global Market Tracker:

Bizav activity still buoyant amid worsening economic outlook

Global bizjet activity contracted 1.5% year-on-year in Week 17 (20 – 26 April), with the year-to-date figure (1 January-26 April) holding at +4.6% ahead of last year, a 0.1pp decrease from the +4.7% reported through 19 April, while still a notable improvement on the +2.5% achieved over the same period in 2025 vs 2024.

While accounting for 72% of all bizjet sectors flown last week, North America declined 1.7% year-on-year, whereas Europe, the world’s second largest market (14% of Week 17 flights), posted the strongest regional year-on-year growth, expanding 9.4%.

While Europe’s +9.4% Week 17 YOY growth was a highlight last week, the Middle East continues to drag down activity. Accounting for roughly 1% of global bizjet sectors, the Middle East’s 30.7% decline drug down the global growth figure by 0.4 percentage points.

Africa also suffered a notable decline at -15.7%, while also accounting for 1% of total sectors and dragging the global trend roughly 0.2 percentage points.

Global Bizjet Departures Trends YTD (1 January-26 April).

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Middle East Weekly Evolution Tracker

WINGX estimated fuel uplift data continues to provide the clearest lens through which to measure the cumulative and weekly toll of the conflict on Middle East business aviation. The WINGX pre-conflict baseline is Weeks 7 - 10 (9 February-8 March). While the conflict outbreak occurred on 28 February in Week 9, the material impact on jet fuel pricing did not begin to be felt until the week of 9 March (Week 11), meaning Weeks 7 – 10 captures operating conditions before the fuel cost shock began cascading through the market. Across those four weeks, Middle East bizjet activity averaged 1.5M USG of estimated fuel uplift per week, establishing the baseline against which subsequent weeks in the table below are measured.

Weekly Middle East bizjet fuel uplift trends pre vs post conflict.

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FIFA World Cup 2026: The Biggest Bizjet Event of the Year?

With the FIFA World Cup this summer hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, business aviation is facing one of the most significant demand events in its history. WINGX historical surge factor analysis across three previous World Cups (2006, 2018, and 2022) reveals a consistent pattern of bizjet fuel uplift spikes tied directly to tournament progression.

At the group stage, host city airports have averaged a 1.5x surge factor, rising to 1.9x for Quarterfinal matches and 5.2x for the Semifinals. The numbers accelerate sharply as the tournament reaches its climax, peaking at an average surge factor of 12.9x for the Final. With 16 host cities spread across three countries and the tournament running from June through July, the 2026 World Cup represents an unprecedented concentration of high surge bizjet demand events across the three countries.

WINGX Managing Director Richard Koe will be hosting a dedicated webinar on 7 May exploring the full implications of the World Cup for business aviation demand. The webinar will feature guests covering the perspectives of airport managers, FBOs, and charter providers, offering a comprehensive view of how the industry is gearing up for the biggest bizjet demand event of the year. Details to follow.

Historical Fuel Surge Factors* by Tournament Stage (2006, 2018, 2022 World Cups).

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JETNET iQ: Tracking Trend of Pre-Owned Transactions

In collaboration with JETNET, WINGX Managing Director Richard Koe and WINGX Analyst Nick Koscinski have developed the new recurring JETNET iQ Market Monitor report. The report sets out to provide market analysis across all JETNET Group coverage of business jet inventory, market, and flight activity. The below chart and analysis are a snapshot of the type of insights contained in the report. Please reach out to nick@wingx-advance.com for your copy of the report.

Early 2021 marked a historic surge in pre-owned transaction volume, with monthly year-on-year growth rates exceeding 100%, driven by first time buyers. The market correction period then extended through 2022-24 with the trailing twelve-month (TTM) trend line decreasing consistently from mid-2022 through early 2024, as pandemic-era exuberance normalized. The TTM trend then recovered strongly through 2025, reaching as high as +16% in December, before softening to just +1% by March 2026, with monthly YOY growth sharply negative in February and March. This could be interpreted as a new meaningful headwind to buyer confidence in early 2026, caused by the Middle East conflict outbreak and broader macro uncertainty.

Monthly pre-owned business jet transaction volumes trend through March 2026.

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Nick Koscinski, WINGX Analyst, comments: "This week we saw softer activity globally, with North America pulling back and the Middle East still stuck well below pre-conflict levels. Year-to-date, the pre-owned transaction data is starting to show some weakness, with monthly figures turning negative in February and March after a strong 2025. Looking ahead, we are turning our attention to the World Cup and are anticipating strong surges in bizjet activity across all sixteen host cities."

This bulletin is produced by WINGX, part of the JETNET Group. The JETNET Group is an independent organisation with no commercial affiliation with BlueSky News. All references to products, services, and events in this bulletin are editorial in nature and have not been paid for or sponsored by any third party.

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BlueSky Business Aviation News | 30th April 2026 | Issue #840