Oct. 23, 2024

Even as the market for preowned business aircraft has settled over the past year, a panel of top aircraft brokers at 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) reported they’re busier than ever finding aircraft for their clients.

Rollie Vincent, of Roland Vincent & Associates, moderator of the Flight Deck discussion, started with the question on most people’s minds: How much has demand really softened following the record levels seen during the pandemic?

“If you’re comparing year-over-year, the market feels consistent and that’s a great place to be,” said Emily Deaton, CEO at jetAVIVA. “There are some very specific nuances within sub-market segments where we’re seeing some variation, but overall, we’re in a fairly healthy and balanced market dynamic.”

Supplies of preowned aircraft have increased, but Brad Harris, founder and CEO of Dallas Jet International, emphasized that isn’t cause for alarm. “When you were at 2% [fleet for sale] but now we’re back up to 6-7% it’s still a seller’s market,” he said. “Some airplanes are still hard to find, but most have settled down.”

“Everybody tracks things differently, but we don’t judge the health of a market by the percentage of the fleet for sale,” added Don Dwyer, co-managing partner at Guardian Jet. “You’ve got to look at [that percentage] versus the rate of sale that’s going on.”

One category has seen steep declines in value, however. Many older legacy aircraft, which had been slated for retirement before COVID demand also drove their prices up, have since seen their values plummet as the market regained normalcy.

“If you have a 30-year-old, out-of-production airplane, you’re in trouble,” said Dwyer. “That [price] boost during COVID went away fast, and prices are softening from that irrational exuberance. But overall, if your aircraft is 15 years or newer, you’re fine. People aren’t necessarily making money, but you won’t lose your shirt, either.”

Buyer demographics have also shifted. “The younger generation is buying airplanes, but we’re also seeing them move to fractional and charters,” Harris said. “Single seat charter means a lot to them because of sustainability. They’re okay riding with someone else.”

When asked about headwinds for new and pre-owned aircraft sales, Steve Varsano, founder and CEO of The Jet Business, pointed to the manufacturers themselves. “There are plenty of customers out there,” he said. “The manufacturers have created such a great product in the last 10 or 15 years that biggest competition for the OEMs today is what they built 10 years ago.”

Continued supply chain constraints and packed MROs are another hindering factor. “We are at capacity in a number of different places in the industry,” Deaton said. “We’re feeling it, and it certainly affects the transaction process and the ownership process.”

Perhaps surprisingly, panelists stated the top headlines in the media now – including the looming U.S. presidential election, global conflicts or economic concerns – are not expected to significantly affect business jet sales.

“People buy airplanes because they need them for business,” Varsano said. “No matter if interest rates or high or the economy is bad, if someone needs an airplane, they’re gonna buy an airplane.”

Any person who attends an NBAA convention, conference, seminar or other program grants permission to NBAA, its employees and agents (collectively "NBAA") to record his or her visual/audio images, including, but not limited to, photographs, digital images, voices, sound or video recordings, audio clips, or accompanying written descriptions, and, without notifying such person, to use his or her name and such images for any purpose of NBAA, including advertisements for NBAA and its programs.

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