Preowned Bizjet Market To Stabilize, Experts Say

Market prices of preowned business aircraft will continue to stabilize because of the buying off of oversupply of aircraft, according to Leading Edge president Joe Carfagna Jr. and Guardian Jet cofounder Mike Dwyer. During a recent presentation at the National Business Aviation Association regional forum at New Jersey's Morristown Municipal Airport, Carfagna said that the market will see an uptick in prices “very soon. Currently, we are in a unique place where values are low and used airplanes are starting to dry up. In my opinion, a five- or six-year-old airplane being 50 percent the value of a new one is uncharted territory for this industry. I don’t think it will remain that way over the long haul.”

However, preowned supply could rise again in the next few years. On this note, the executives focused on Gulfstream’s new G500 and G600 large-cabin twinjets as they add to the supply in the market. The G500 is expected to enter service by year-end, with the G600 to follow next year. Those at the presentation voiced concerns for the possible impact these aircraft could have on the market.

Last year, business aviation brokerage firm Hagerty Jet Group advised that the G650 market should be closely watched as inventory increasedand prices decreased. Dwyer noted that the G650’s introduction was completely “off the rulebooks” from previous aircraft, but described the order books for the G500/G600 as “good, but not off the charts. It’s not a stratospheric launch like the G650.” Carfagna agreed, saying that the new aircraft would not affect the market immediately as there would be a “lag effect” from order time to delivery.