https://aviationweek.com/themes/custom/particle/dist/app-drupal/assets/AW_logo_horizontal_small_white.svg
Credit: Nigel Prevett 
Total flight hours by corporate, fraction and charter operators during the first three months of 2026 rose when compared to the same period in 2025 and in 2019, according to Aviation Week’s Tracked Aircraft Utilization data.
Total flight hours for corporate operators, by far the largest of the four operator classes with a fleet exceeding 21,500 aircraft, totalled just under one million hours over the three months, up 3% compared to a year ago and 17% above the first quarter of 2019.
Flight hours by fractional operators rose 11% when compared to a year ago and show a utilization growth of 72% over the same period in 2019.
Private individual operators, meanwhile, show a -1% decrease in flight hours compared to a year ago, but showed a 30% increase when compared to the first quarter in 2019.