JetSpy Signal – May 2025

May 2025 Business Aviation Activity Report
JetSpy Signal - May 2025 Business Aviation Report

Welcome to the JetSpy Signal for May 2025, your trusted source for business aviation intelligence and aircraft activity analysis.

Drawing from our proprietary business aviation and tail number tracking capabilities, this month’s report delivers a data-rich view of private jet activity across the globe. Whether you’re an operator, investor, or aviation strategist, you’ll find actionable insights and key patterns worth noting.

Let’s take a look at the numbers that shaped last month’s activity. 

Flight Activity: Steady Growth Continues

May 2025 kept the momentum going for private aviation, with our unfiltered flight tracking showing steady growth across key metrics. Here’s the breakdown: 

  • Month-over-Month (May 2025 vs. April 2025): Total flights and flight hours both up +2.15%.
  • Year-over-Year (May 2025 vs. May 2024): Flights increased by +1.44%, and hours climbed by +2.53%.
  • Year-to-Date (YTD through May 2025 vs. 2024): Flights rose +3.20%, and hours jumped +3.80%. 

These numbers show robust resilience in the face of economic headwinds. For those of you running fleets or eyeing investments, this business aviation data is a solid starting point to gauge where the market’s headed and identify opportunities. 

Top Routes: Familiar Faces and Fresh Contenders

Our business aviation analytics lit up with some familiar routes dominating May 2025, though a few shifts caught our attention. 

  • KLAS (Harry Reid International, Las Vegas) ↔️ KVNY (Van Nuys): Retained its position as the top city pair, though activity decreased from May 2024, reflecting sustained West Coast demand.
  • KIAD (Washington Dulles) ↔️  KTEB (Teterboro): Held strong as a key East Coast business corridor despite a slight year-over-year decline.
  • KHPN (Westchester County) ↔️  KTEB (Teterboro): Gained ground compared to last year, solidifying the New York Metro area’s prominence.
  • KBED (Hanscom Field) ↔️  KTEB (Teterboro): Remained a staple, though slightly down from May 2024.  
  • KDAL (Dallas Love) ↔️  KHOU (Houston Hobby): A new face in the top tier, showing Texas is a private jet hotspot. 

Notably, routes like KPBI (Palm Beach) ↔️ KTEB (Teterboro) and KLAS (Harry Reid International, Las Vegas) ↔️ KSNA (John Wayne, Orange County) fell out of the top ten from May 2024, while KHPN (Westchester County) ↔️ KPBI (Palm Beach) also lost its ranking. Our flight tracking by tail number platform empowers operators to pinpoint these trends for strategic route planning and market positioning. 

Operator Segment Performance: Mixed Signals

Breaking down tail tracker data by operator segment (per aircraft averages), May 2025 shows varied performance: 

  • PUBLIC CORPORATIONS: Led with an average of 24.0 flight hours and 10,255 gallons of fuel consumed, reflecting an +8.9% in hours and +10.1% in fuel from April 2025, but a -3.0% in hours and -1.3% in fuel compared to May 2024.
  • FOREIGN OPERATORS: Averaged 19.9 hours and 9,226 gallons, showing robust month-over-month growth of +12.6% in hours and +11.6% in fuel, though down -7.9% in hours and -9.2% in fuel from May 2024, indicating strong short-term demand from international-based operators and organizations.
  • ASSET MANAGEMENT: Posted 18.9 hours and 8,566 gallons, which is up +4.4% in hours and +5.8% in fuel from April, and +3.0% in hours and +4.2% in fuel from May 2024. Steady growth here.
  • INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY: Clocked 16.8 hours and 7,642 gallons, which is +8.1% in hours and +8.9% in fuel from April, but down -5.3% in both hours and fuel from last year.
  • PRIVATE CORPORATIONS: Experienced a downturn with 13.2 hours and 5,459 gallons, down -2.5% in both hours and fuel from April, and a steep -26.7% in hours and -27.0% in fuel from May 2024. Sounds like some cost-cutting may be happening.
  • SPORTS TEAMS: Averaged 11.6 hours and 4,166 gallons, up +5.6% in hours but down -4.5% in fuel from April and down -10.4% in hours and -8.6% in fuel from last May.
     
  • GOVERNMENTAL: Posted 9.0 hours and 3,659 gallons, with a +9.6% increase in hours and +9.3% in fuel from April, but a -9.9% decrease in hours and -13.1% in fuel from May 2024.
  • CHURCHES/RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS: Showed reduced activity with 7.8 hours and 2,884 gallons, down -8.8% in hours and -15.9% in fuel from April, and down -17.4% in hours and -24.5% in fuel from last year. 

This business aircraft activity analysis highlights strong utilization from public corporations and foreign operators, driving both flight hours and fuel consumption, while private corporations and religious groups scale back. Operators may find these insights from our business aviation intelligence platform valuable for refining fleet strategies or targeting high-value clients.

Aircraft Classes: Super Midsize Still King

Digging into tracking private jets by aircraft class (per aircraft averages) highlights key performance trends for May 2025, with super midsize jets continuing to lead the pack:

  • SUPER MIDSIZE: Retained its top position with 18.83 hours and 5,739 gallons per aircraft. These metrics show a +0.8% gain in hours over April but a decline of -4.8% from May 2024. Fuel consumption rose +0.9% month-over-month but fell -5.2% year-over-year.
  • ULTRA LONG RANGE: Logged 16.1 hours and 7,814 gallons, up +6.1% in hours and +6.2% in fuel from April but down -4.8% in hours and -4.5% in fuel from last year.
  • MIDSIZE: Held steady at 15.96 hours/3,932 gallons, up just +0.5% in hours and +0.6% in fuel from April, but down -1.3% in hours and -0.6% in fuel from May 2024. 
  • HEAVY: Saw solid performance with 12.5 hours/5,075 gallons, a gain of +1.3% in hours and +1.4% in fuel from April, but down -1.1% in hours and -0.8% in fuel from last May.
  • LIGHT: Logged 12.93 hours and 2,113 gallons, up +1.3% in hours and +1.4% in fuel from April, down -1.1% in hours and -0.8% in fuel year-over-year. 
  • VERY LIGHT: Trailed the rest with 8.43 hours and 693 gallons, up +2.8% in both hours and fuel from April, but down -4.2% in hours and -4.6% in fuel year-over-year. 

Super midsize jets remain the preferred choice for high utilization, based on their balance of range and efficiency, while heavy jets show notable year-over-year strength. Our private jet tracker provides the granular business aviation data needed to optimize fleet strategies based on these trends. 

Top Airport Gainers: Summer Hotspots Heating Up

Our tail number tracking data highlights airports with significant month-over-month flight increases. Our metrics from May indicate an uptick in seasonal and event-driven demand as summer draws closer in the Northern Hemisphere. 

  • KBHB (Hancock County-Bar Harbor) in Trenton, ME, topped our charts with a remarkable +411.76% surge. With the warmer weather comes hordes of tourists and summer visitors to the coastal colonies and enclaves along the Downeast Coast in Maine. KBHB is one of Maine’s busiest airports during the warmer months and sees a significant uptick in private aviation during this time. It is also the closest airport to Acadia National Park.
  • LFMN (Nice Côte d’Azur) in Nice, France, saw a gain of +385.71%, likely fueled by European summer travel and events such as the Cannes Film Festival, which took place this year from May 13-24.
  • LIRP (Pisa/Galileo Galilei) in Pisa, Italy, was up +300% in May. European summer hotspots are heating up.
  • KPLN (Pellston Regional) in Pellston, MI, climbed +272.50%, boosted by its proximity to Michigan summer hotspots like Mackinac Island and other northern Michigan getaways.
  • KSLK (Adirondack Regional) in Saranac Lake, NY, climbed +246.15%. Much like others on this list, Saranac Lake is a seasonal hotspot and serves as the gateway to New York’s vast Adirondack Park.
  • OTBD (Doha International) in Doha, Qatar, surged +226.67% in May, indicating continued robust Middle East demand. Special events like the Qatar Economic Forum, held from May 20-22, likely drove traffic spikes. 

These surges offer operators opportunities to reposition aircraft or target high-demand regions. 

Climbers and Descenders: Navigating Market Dynamics

The May 2025 aircraft activity analysis reveals a market with steady growth but varied performance. Our climbers–public corporations and foreign operators–are pushing flight hours, while our descenders–private corporations and religious organizations–are pulling back. Seasonal airports are experiencing significant upticks, and super midsize jets continue to dominate fleet utilization. For investors, the YTD growth (+3.20% flights, +3.80% hours) signals a healthy sector, but year-over-year declines in certain segments warrant close monitoring.


Stay ahead of the competition with JetSpy.com’s real-time analytics and route research tools. Subscribe today to unlock deeper insights and track June 2025’s emerging leaders. Our advanced tail tracker and aviation analytics platform empowers stakeholders across the business aviation and financial industries. Whether you’re an airport operations team, FBO, aircraft manufacturer, charter company, broker, analyst, underwriter, or financial professional, JetSpy delivers comprehensive, efficient access to business aviation intelligence. 

Create a free account to explore our platform or subscribe for unfiltered insights, including live flight tracking alerts, flight history, fleet monitoring, operating stats, route analysis, and utilization trends. JetSpy offers three subscription plans: Scout for individual (a la carte) aircraft tracking, Controller for access to all aircraft, and Authority for added fleet, route, and utilization analysis. Organizations can unlock multi-user licenses, programmatic access, or custom reports by submitting an inquiry. 

Check back next month for the latest trends, and let us know how we can tailor our business aviation intelligence to your needs. 


Data compiled by JetSpy.com reflects business aviation data for May 2025.

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