Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Aviation data and safety specialist Argus believes a return to “normal” in business aviation flight activity is still several months away with year-over-year declines anticipated through the next several months but sees improvements after that as Covid-19 vaccine distribution increases.

 


“While a return to ‘normal’ may still be several months away, we are beginning to see the light and continued signs that will further stabilize our industry,” Argus said in its 2021 outlook, entitled Business Aviation Rebound.&nbsp;"As countries begin to distribute the vaccine, it is expected that international travel bans will be lifted, along with the current corporate travel bans in place all over the globe.”

 


Argus is projecting a quiet December and holiday season with business aircraft activity 18.4 percent below that of December 2019. Part 135 is anticipated to represent the strongest sector in the month, with operations down by 12.6 percent. But large-cabin activity—throughout all operational categories—is expected to remain down by more than 20 percent year-over-year for the next few months.

 


Moving into January, operations overall are anticipated to be down 12.3 percent and still down 14.8 percent in February. Activity is expected to remain strong in states including Arizona and Florida but offset by weaknesses in California and New York.

 


March, however, “will start to yield some interesting numbers in our industry,” Argus added, given that the drop-off in flights began in that month. Argus sees a 21.6 percent gain in March 2021, compared with a year earlier. It also projects incremental improvements in the Part 91 market, which has struggled with corporate travel bans.

 


April will follow with expected gains “never seen in the modern age of our industry,” Argus said, with a leap of 194 percent in operations from April 2020. However, April 2020 also had represented the&nbsp;trough for business aviation operations, plunging some 71 percent from the year prior.

 


The fractional segment is expected to drive the gains, projected to be up 323 percent year-over-year with the Part 91 market anticipated up 189 percent, and Part 135 activity increasing&nbsp;173 percent.

 


Argus said from there, operations should head into a busy summer season.

Argus: Bizav Ops To See Gains After Slow Start in 2021 

Business aviation operations will remain down for the first two months of the year and then return to growth after that, Argus forecasts.

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