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

Data analyst WingX believes business aviation in North America is set for “one of the most significant demand events in its history” with the FIFA World Cup coming to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico this summer. Compared with surges in the three previous World Cups, WingX noted a consistent pattern of business jet fuel uplift spikes, with host city airports averaging a factor of 1.5, increasing to 1.9x for the quarterfinal matches and 5.2x for the semifinals.
“The numbers accelerate sharply as the tournament reaches its climax, peaking at an average surge factor of 12.9x for the final,” the analyst said. “With 16 host cities spread across three countries and the tournament running from June through July, the 2026 World Cup represents an unprecedented concentration of high surge bizjet demand events across the three countries.”
This comes as business aircraft traffic has already remained ahead of 2025 activity globally. WingX’s latest Weekly Global Market Tracker found that operations for the sector were up by 4.6% from the beginning of the year through April 26 when compared with the same period in 2025. WingX noted that the year-to-date figure is a marked improvement from the 2.5% gain logged a year earlier.
Middle East activity remains down, off by 30.7% for the week ending April 26, the 17th of the year. This eroded the overall global figure by 0.4%. WingX has also been measuring fuel uplift as a result of the ongoing conflict with Iran, using the period from February 9 to March 8 as a baseline, when it averaged 1.5 million U.S. gallons. For the most recent week, fuel uplift was still down by 18% over the baseline period. However, that was stable from the week before. The peak drop thus far occurred during the first week of April, when fuel upload was down by 45% from the base.
In the 17th week, Africa struggled with a 15.7% slide, and North America dipped by 1.7% year over year. North America accounted for 72% of operations. Business aviation activity in Europe, meanwhile, jumped by 9.4% during the week.

WingX Sees Unprecedented Bizjet Activity Ahead with FIFA

Middle East operations still off significantly but global activity is ahead of 2025

WingX is advising that North America is poised for a business aircraft operations surge with the arrival of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June and July.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Amy Wilder

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Africa-Asia corridor fastest-growing with 42% increase in 2025

Multi-location Living Driving Some Bizjet Route Growth

Charles Alcock

Charlotte Bailey

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

With discriminatory taxes and SAF mandates, European governments have left their aviation sector with a sluggish growth rate

European Bizav Already Weak—And Then Came War

Sweden-based company now has a new office in Barcelona, Spain

Document Management Group Web Manuals Expands in Europe

New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

In this article

More In Operations

Multi-location Living Driving Some Bizjet Route Growth

Africa-Asia corridor fastest-growing with 42% increase in 2025

European Bizav Already Weak—And Then Came War

With discriminatory taxes and SAF mandates, European governments have left their aviation sector with a sluggish growth rate

Document Management Group Web Manuals Expands in Europe

Sweden-based company now has a new office in Barcelona, Spain

Group Seeks To Standardize Business Aviation Technology

Technology Aviation Business group includes 30 founding members

MedevacX Unveils Medical Management Platform in Europe

Company teams with Moove to provide array of capabilities

Middle East Conflict Continues To Drag Bizav Activity

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

NATA Forum To Delve into AI Applications for Bizav

NATA holding forum with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Tuvoli in Daytona Beach, Florida

KlasJet Muses Nordic and Italian Market Approaches

Lithuanian charter airline reflects on European idiosyncrasies

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN