A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

Nearly two months after the U.S. and Israel’s initial attack on Iran, the Middle East business aviation market remains “deeply suppressed,” according to the industry data analyst WingX Advance. In its latest weekly global market tracker report, the JetNet subsidiary noted that regional fuel uplifts in the region were holding at levels more than 40% below pre-conflict norms, while activity was down nearly 46% year over year, with no recovery trajectory in sight.
Yet, for week 15, despite the Middle East conflict and its stifling effect on private aviation—which curtailed global growth by half a percentage point—global flight activity actually rose by 5.6% year over year with approximately 82,000 sectors flown. North America saw an improvement of 9.2% (buoyed by traffic to the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia), while South American usage rose by 14.3%. Asia improved by more than 4.1%, and Europe posted a 4.4% decline.
“Despite the decline from the Middle East, which is expected these days, we saw a good week overall, with the market bouncing back after the Easter holiday, and with Augusta delivering the expected demand surge,” said WingX analyst Nick Koscinski. “We’re now looking ahead at the upcoming premier events that could drive bizjet demand above normal levels, like the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, and the Monaco Grand Prix.”

WingX: Middle East Conflict Continues as Drag on Bizav Activity

With no end to the conflict in sight, activity in the region is suppressed

Following the start of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran on February 28, business aviation in the Middle East has experienced severe erosion.

Middle East Conflict Continues To Drag Bizav Activity

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