Global business aviation achieved 2.7% growth in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, with operators logging 3.9 million flights worldwide, according to data presented by WingX managing director Richard Koe during the 2025 JetNet iQ Summit last week in Washington, D.C. The growth translates to approximately 450 additional flights per day, with July and August 2025 setting new records for business jet activity.

North America continues to dominate the market, representing 67% of global flight activity while maintaining steady year-over-year growth of 2.6%. The region has achieved a compound annual growth rate of 4% since 2019, reaching levels 32% higher than pre-pandemic activity. “We’re actually at a record level—2022 was the peak of the rebound after the pandemic. Then we saw a bit of a plateau in 2023 and 2024. Now in 2025, [there are] 32% more business jet sectors than in 2019,” Koe noted. “The bizjet fleet over that time, if we’re counting unique units, was up about 20%. So we’ve actually seen an increase in sectors per aircraft.”

Europe presents a stark contrast to North American performance. Koe described the “central European market, Germany, France, where we see a very stagnant economy. […] That market is actually smaller now in terms of bizjet activity than back in 2019.”

Dassault Aviation has received the first supplemental type certificate (STC) for installation of the Gogo Galileo half-duplex (HDX) satcom system on a Falcon jet. The STC for the Falcon 2000 series enables occupants to access Eutelsat’s OneWeb low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite network, and it covers the Falcon 2000EX, 2000EX EASy, DX, LX, LXS, and S models.

Falcon 2000 owners can have the Gogo Galileo HDX system installed at Dassault factory-owned and authorized service centers. The OneWeb LEO satellite network delivers high-speed airborne connectivity globally, during all phases of flight, and on the ground.

Two line-replaceable units are included in the STC package: the HDX electronically steered antenna mounted on top of the fuselage and Gogo’s Avance system. The next Falcon jet to be STC’d for Gogo Galileo HDX will be the 7X by the end of the year.

“A popular choice in the super-midsize market, the Falcon 2000 is exactly the type of aircraft we developed Gogo Galileo HDX to serve. We are proud to have worked alongside Dassault Falcon on the STC and excited to see Gogo Galileo support owners and operators in this segment,” said Gogo CEO Chris Moore. “Installation of the Gogo Galileo HDX terminal helps retain asset value, enhances the passenger in-flight experience, and supports more efficient flight operations.”

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s (ERAU) Prescott, Arizona campus has received the FAA’s approval to join the agency’s Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI). Under the agreement announced on Monday, graduates of ERAU’s air traffic management program in Prescott can be fast-tracked into ATC towers for on-the-job training.

Enhanced AT-CTI is designed to help the FAA ramp up controller hiring by expanding the training capacity, building on the agency’s program in Oklahoma City. Universities participating in the Enhanced AT-CTI program must offer the equivalent curriculum and advanced training technology as found in Oklahoma City.

The Prescott campus joins ERAU’s program in Daytona Beach, Florida, in participating in the Enhanced AT-CTI program. The Daytona Beach campus was among the first to be approved to join, and its first class of students graduated from the Enhanced AT-CTI program last spring.

FAA approval followed an extensive audit of both the curriculum and technology. ERAU recently upgraded its air traffic control laboratory with simulators that replicate tower operations and can run more than a dozen FAA-aligned scenarios. The high-definition, 180-degree tower simulators enable students to experience and respond to weather challenges, traffic surges, and emergency protocols.

The Aero Asia 2025 show, set to be staged in Zhuhai from November 27 to 30, should provide fascinating insights into the state of general aviation in China, but also a glimpse of the country’s fast-emerging low-altitude economy based on expanding applications for drones and eVTOL aircraft. Organizers are expecting that 300 exhibitors from 17 countries will interact with around 60,000 visitors at the Zhuhai International Airshow Center.

As of the start of September, the exhibitor list was dominated by Chinese companies, spanning a wide array of OEMs making light aircraft, drones, engines, and components. There will also be some groups from Cambodia, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, and Singapore.

Messe Frankfurt and Zhuhai Airshow Group, which organize the biennial show, said they were in the process of confirming more international exhibitors anticipated from countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, the UAE, and the U.S. Despite the ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and Chinese governments over the Trump Administration’s tariffs, the organizers appear optimistic that this will not diminish American involvement in the event.

Anticipated international OEMs among Aero Asia exhibitors include Cessna, Pilatus, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Cirrus, Garmin, and Airbus Helicopters. Leading Chinese eVTOL aircraft developers such as Aerofugia, AutoFlight, EHang, and Volocopter are also set to have products on display in Zhuhai, which is part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.

Gogo customer support is ever-present, wherever our customers are flying around the globe. 

Georgetown, South Carolina-based Sherpa Air has been named a Garmin authorized service and installation center, which enables the company to install and service Garmin’s full line of avionics products.

The Garmin avionics that Sherpa Air can install include integrated flight decks, GPS navigators, ADS-B solutions, and advanced cockpit systems. Sherpa Air’s customers are located along the U.S. East Coast, and the Garmin approval expands the company’s avionics expertise.

“We plan on doing King Air installations to include the G1000, Autoland, and autothrottle [systems],” said Carl Counasse, Sherpa Air v-p of maintenance. “We are also looking at writing some STCs for Part 25 aircraft with a full Garmin package using G700s, GTNs, TCAS II, et cetera. We will be retaining the original autopilot that was installed in the aircraft to reduce STC cost and certification time.”

“Garmin’s certification is a strong endorsement of our technical capabilities and our commitment to delivering world-class avionics support,” said Sherpa Air president Paul Handakas. “We are excited to bring Garmin’s cutting-edge technology and trusted solutions to our customers.”

Airshare is celebrating its 25th anniversary and is reflecting on its evolution from a regional fractional operator to a nationwide private aviation operator. Founded in Wichita in 2000, the company has expanded its footprint across the U.S. while building a fleet of more than 100 aircraft and diversifying its services.

Early in its tenure, the company introduced a days-based model for fractional ownership, and later added aircraft management, charter services, and jet cards. In 2008, Airshare expanded into whole aircraft management, followed in 2023 by the acquisition of Wheels Up’s aircraft management business, which doubled the company's employee count and significantly enlarged its fleet. Last year, Kompass Kapital acquired a controlling stake, fueling further national expansion of the fractional program.

Airshare now ranks as the eighth-largest private jet operator in the U.S., according to the company, which plans to celebrate its milestone with events nationwide, including a gathering at its headquarters in Kansas City on September 19.

“Reaching our 25th anniversary is a testament to the hard work of our employees, the loyalty of our customers, and the strength of our vision for private aviation,” said CEO John Owen. “From our founding in Wichita to becoming a nationwide operator across all of our services, we’ve remained focused on delivering exceptional experiences when flying with us.”

Oklahoma state aviation and airport officials held a groundbreaking ceremony launching several much-anticipated improvements at South Grand Lake Regional Airport (1K8). On the slate for upgrades at the general and business aviation facility are a new terminal to accommodate the growing number of passengers, pilots, and other airport visitors; an additional hangar; and a parallel taxiway serving the north/south runway.

The first phase of the improvement plan includes constructing a 3,800-sq-ft terminal with updated facilities and comfortable amenities. The new 12,000-sq-ft hangar is part of an effort to increase revenue-generating aircraft storage facilities.

The projects, part of a multi-phase effort over the next five years to upgrade the airport, are funded by the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics, the FAA, and the airport sponsor. The total cost for all three projects is approximately $12.3 million.

Over the last two decades, 1K8's footprint has more than doubled to 125 acres. It includes a 4,700-foot runway with instrument approaches, automated weather reporting, an approach lighting system, self-fueling, and 18 hangars. Future phases in the airport master plan include relocating the county road to allow more usable runway surface and installing a new runway lighting system.

An operator of aircraft in 12 countries overseen by eight airworthiness regulators, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has signed up for the ELMS Staff Competence Management software to ensure compliance with the various regulatory frameworks within which it operates.

ELMS specializes in helping aircraft operators manage compliance in complex regulatory environments, including making sure maintenance staff meet all training requirements. The ELMS solution enables MAF to focus on its mission to deliver aid, medical assistance, and development solutions to people living in vulnerable communities.

“Being spread across 12 countries under eight different airworthiness regulators, it has been challenging to coordinate the license and authorization compliance of our engineering [maintenance] staff across the world,” said Peter Fryatt, MAF manager of technical training. “ELMS now enables MAF to digitally store complex data in one place and gives us clear visibility of our engineers’ compliance, experience, and competence. Even with our complexities, the team at ELMS has added significant value, offering decades of experience in aviation to help MAF structure our data in a way that realizes benefits from the very beginning of the onboarding. Ultimately, this partnership will help MAF use our resources even more strategically so we can transform more lives in isolated locations.”