The preowned business jet market has finally rebounded from its decade-long decline following the global economic downturn of 2008/2009, according to Michael Dwyer, managing partner of aircraft brokerage, appraisal and consulting firm Guardian Jet. While the ultra-long-range jet market began recovering about five years ago with sales to high-net-worth individuals traveling to and from emerging markets in Asia and South America, last year saw recovery for the entire preowned market, Dwyer said.

“The overall pre-owned market took a bump up in 2017 when the U.S. passed bonus depreciation and that carried over to 2018,” Dwyer told AIN this week at NBAA-BACE 2019. “So 2018 was a record-setting year for a lot of brokers and it was the first year that we saw a strong recovery of the midsize and light jets in addition to the ultra jets.”

Recovery means aircraft values have now stabilized and in some cases are going up as inventories begin to shrink. Dwyer noted that preowned Gulfstream G550s, Falcon 7Xs, and Global 5000/6000s are especially in high demand as many first-time jet buyers who are moving up from chartering light and midsize jets are buying super-midsize and larger jets. 

“Some of the ultra-long-range equipment is seeing a very healthy rebound because of the pricing of new aircraft,” said Dwyer. “A decade ago, a new G550 at $40 million to $50 million was as much money as you could spend on a new aircraft—it was top of the line. Now if you look at the Gulfstream lineup, a $45 million aircraft is about the fourth most expensive in the lineup, and a preowned $15 million to $25 million G550 is an incredible value.”

While aircraft interior appearance is important when selling an aircraft, with tasteful earthy tones still favored among most buyers, Dwyer said buyers are generally more interested in connectivity options than the aircraft cosmetics.

“You have very sophisticated charter and fractional customers that are demanding connectivity in the back of the aircraft,” he pointed out. “As long as the cabin looks new and everything works, for the first-time buyer it’s all about the cabin management system, internet connectivity, and the entertainment system.”