How the Pandemic Is Changing the Business Jet Market

Cyrus Sigari knows a thing or two about selling business jets.

As the executive chairman and co-founder of aircraft brokerage and acquisition company jetAVIVA, he leads a firm that has bought and sold thousands of turbine aircraft in over 40 countries worldwide. So, his assessment of the effect of COVID-19 on business aircraft sales in the months and years to come is worthy of note.

Not surprisingly, Sigari says that businesses are taking a hard look at how they use business aviation. He anticipates that some aircraft operators will downsize their fleets to smaller, more efficient aircraft and have less of a need for the larger, long-haul aircraft that are typically used in international operations, which he thinks will decline.

One of the biggest positive effects that the pandemic has had on business aviation is that there are companies and individuals for whom aircraft use or ownership will now make more sense than ever, says Sigari.

“With coming de-urbanization, greater focus on smaller markets, reluctance to be in crowded spaces, and reduced airline routes and flights, companies and high-net-worth individuals are going to look for different aviation solutions,” he declared. “More travel will be to secondary and tertiary markets, which may spark some new users of business jets.”

He also anticipates a new wave of younger customers will recognize the benefits of business aviation.

Sigari predicts that aircraft manufacturers’ investments in new aviation technologies may slow, at least in the near-term, as their balance sheets get adversely affected by the pandemic. Long-term, however, he is bullish about a new generation of technological innovations, such as unmanned aircraft, electric-powered VTOLs and advanced aerial mobility.

“Companies, local governments and others will be looking at doing things as inexpensively as possible,” said Sigari. “These trends will help fuel innovation.”