Bizjet departures top 4 million as fractional flying grows

JETNET’s October market barometer says worldwide business jet departures reached 4.01 million on a trailing-12-month basis through September 2026, up 4.2%. Fractional ownership grew 9.9%, while corporate flight departments fell 8.6%.

• Date: October 16, 2026
• Departures: 4.01m worldwide on a September 2026 TTM basis
• Growth: global departures up 4.2%
• Fractional ownership: up 9.9% TTM
• OEM backlog: $61.6bn across four major manufacturers

JETNET’s October 2026 market barometer says business jet flying is still expanding, with 4.01m global departures on a trailing-12-month basis through September. North America accounted for 71.6% of that activity.

The split inside the market is the interesting part. Fractional ownership grew 9.9%, while corporate flight departments shrank 8.6% and branded charter slipped 1.5%. Average global utilization reached 20.7 hours per aircraft per month, 10.8% above 2019.

The numbers show a market that is busy but changing shape. More demand is flowing into flexible ownership and fleet operators, while traditional company flight departments look weaker. At the same time, the four major OEMs have a combined $61.6bn backlog, giving manufacturers unusually long visibility.