International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) members closed 554 preowned business aircraft sales in the fourth quarter, accounting for more than half of all transactions between April and December, the organization announced this week. “In total, IADA dealers accounted for 1,011 transactions in the April-December time period, not counting preowned aircraft sales handled by our OEM members,” said IADA executive director Wayne Starling. “Our dealers registered 285 sales in December alone, by far the most active month of the year and double any other Covid-19-impacted month.”

IADA members represent the top 7 percent of dealers and 40 percent of preowned sales globally, the organization said. Among the transactions that closed in the fourth quarter, only 36 of the 554 were at lower prices. That compares with 45 aircraft that sold for a lower price among the 174 deals closed in the second quarter of 2020.

“While it is way too early to say the industry has rebounded completely, as the pandemic is still raging, the activity in the preowned aircraft marketplace is certainly trending upwards across all of our dealers,” Starling said.

According to additional data from IADA in the April to December 2020 period, dealer-members reported 84 new commitments to buy, entered into 347 acquisition agreements, and noted 131 deals that fell apart.