Industry Insights

Written by Chad Anderson, Jetcraft President
[email protected]

Year-end is a good time to sell your aircraft and remove it from your books for the new year as a corporate (or personal) asset. Once you’ve decided that you are ready to sell, there are several key pieces of advice to keep in mind in order to sell your aircraft for the best price possible. This will help you prepare your aircraft for sale on terms that you will be comfortable with.

1. Work with an Experienced Partner

According to the National Aircraft Resale Association, 14 percent of airplane owners don’t enlist the services of an expert with transactional aircraft experience to handle their sales. While some in that group are corporate flight departments or others with the requisite knowledge, a considerable number are less experienced people who may be outside of their comfort zone.

It is inadvisable to take on the unnecessary risk of trying to sell your aircraft without the full knowledge of its worth and a thorough understanding of how it fits into the marketplace. For example, how is interest in your class or manufacturer of aircraft trending? Are there buyers in other regions of the world who would pay a higher premium for your aircraft on the market? Having answers to these types of questions can dramatically improve your chances of obtaining the best possible sales price for your aircraft.

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Written by Chad Anderson, Jetcraft President
[email protected]

With many buyers and sellers keen to complete their transactions before the new year, now is an opportune time for business jet owners to upgrade, and trading in a current aircraft can move an owner quickly into a model better suited to their mission(s).

An aircraft trade can be advantageous for many reasons, one of which is that it can free up capital so the owner can move more quickly toward acquiring a model more suitable for their changing needs. In such a case, an owner’s best course of action may be to partner with an expert consultant that can seamlessly facilitate the entire trade-in transaction, and move them into an upgraded aircraft quickly and efficiently.

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Jetcraft’s first-ever business aviation market forecast (free to download here) projects North American dominance of the global market throughout the coming decade. As the infographic above shows, aircraft deliveries to customers in North America are forecast to outpace the rest of the world combined, with 54% of the market.

Key analysis:

Our forecast is a bit different than some of the other business aviation market forecasts. Other forecasts are more optimistic about performance outside of North America, with many predicting deliveries from the rest of the world between 60-65% throughout the next 10 years. Jetcraft’s forecast sees North America leading the way, outperforming the rest of the world combined through 2024.

Our forecast also modulates a bit the emphasis on Asia-Pacific as a growth driver. Some of the softening of Asia-Pacific overall is due to the recent slowdown of the fast pace of economic growth in China, the nation that has been the primary driver of ai...

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Written by Scott Plumb, Jetcraft's former Senior Vice President of Sales

In the United States, “For Sale by Owner” (or FSBO) is a growing trend in residential real estate. Where the notion of buying or selling your own home without the use of a professional realtor or attorney would have been less common 20 years ago, these days as many as ten percent of US home sales are of the FSBO variety, according to the National Association of Realtors. The growth of the Internet as a powerful sales and listing tool are major drivers behind this trend in residential real estate, and in the purchase and sale of any goods or services, in the US and elsewhere. The Internet has made information more abundant, accessible, targetable and powerful for everyone, helping to foster the notion that anyone can be an educated buyer or a seller, and save the money otherwise paid for the guidance of experienced professionals.

Has the Internet done the same thing for the buying and selling of private a...

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Written by Scott Plumb, Jetcraft's former Senior Vice President of Sales

You have chartered several times, and you enjoy the flexibility that private aviation offers; the ability to travel productively and safely with colleagues and family, and still make it back to the office or home with time to spare. You are ready to consider the next step in private aviation – aircraft ownership.

Years ago, the trading of private aircraft was as simple as buying any other high-value asset, but in today’s more complicated world of licencing, tax credits and legal regulations,  merely contemplating this particular multi-million dollar purchase can be slightly nerve-wracking.  Many first-time buyers are intimated at the thought of such as large investment, with risk mitigation at the forefront.  And once your decision is made, how does one go about taking ownership of an aircraft? Here is a walkthrough of the acquisition process.

The first step begins with a series of face-to-face mee...

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There are dozens of private business jet models available today. Narrowing down a purchase selection can be daunting. One way to help streamline the acquisition process is to understand the five basic industry categories of business jets; these categories take into account weight, range, and cabin space. They are very light, light, midsize, super-midsize, and large (and heavy/”bizliner” jets).

Approaching these categories with the following questions in mind will simplify the process even more by helping you relate the categories to your specific business needs:

1) Who typically will be traveling on most flights? Just a few members of your executive team, a small group of customers, or large groups of individuals from across your enterprise or client base?

2) What will you be doing on the flight? Working on your laptop or smart tablet? Conducting in-flight meetings and continuing business as usual? Carrying specialized equipment or materials? Or just flying to get to destination...

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Commentary by Scott Plumb, Jetcraft's former Senior Vice President of Sales

[email protected]

Last week’s European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE) was a major event and helped put the spotlight on the European sector of our industry. For the last few years, Europe has remained more or less stagnant, with only slight growth reported overall. However, there are some bright skies ahead for the continent.

First, it helps to remember that the European fleet is indeed growing. In 2001, Europe held 1,517 aircraft according to the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA). As of 2014 this number had more than doubled to 3,301 aircraft. So growth is occurring, though slower than perhaps the industry would like.

Europe remains the world’s second largest private jet market (behind North America) and accounted for 14 percent of deliveries in 2013. Bombardier’s latest market forecast states that Europe is expected to remain one of the main markets for ...

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We are pleased to welcome the newest member of the Jetcraft management team. Diana Chou, a true business aviation pioneer, recently joined Jetcraft as Chairwoman in Asia. With over 15 years in the industry, Diana brings a wealth of business aviation knowledge and experience to the Jetcraft team based in Hong Kong. She will enhance the company’s already unparalleled local expertise in aircraft sales, transactions and marketing.

Diana is pleased to offer her thoughts on the Chinese business aviation sector.

How would you characterize the Chinese business aviation sector?​

China has the largest mobile phone user base in the world. It also has the largest online shopping economy. China is a dynamic market and shows great potential for private aircraft ownership. Some buyers have never flown before and their first flying experience is in their own private jet or helicopter!  

The sector is a bit different from the US or Europe in that the Chinese people never experienced the industrial...

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Q&A with Jetcraft President Chad Anderson - Including a Look at Jetcraft’s New Inventory

While Jetcraft is well-known for its expertise and experience in the pre-owned sector, the company also helps clients obtain new aircraft. In fact, according to Jetcraft President Chad Anderson, you’d be surprised how many factory new aircraft they have available.

So what are the main advantages of purchasing a new model through Jetcraft?

Jetcraft offers unbiased market intelligence and consulting that can help a buyer decide which manufacturer and which model will be the best fit for their mission. In addition, we have a higher level of flexibility and quality with shortened lead times and customization services available. With our ability to deliver creative solutions, we help customers get the aircraft that they are searching for. We can also assist with financing and are able to take trade-ins of any make and model.

Just as with pre-owned models, Jetcraft monitors the entire process a...

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