August 31, 2022 · Chad Anderson
Making a value judgement on pre-owned aircraft
The only way to accurately assess the value of pre-owned aircraft is by having access to comprehensive data. Price fluctuations – whether the depths of the market when Covid hit, or the height of the 2008-2009 peak – make it difficult to judge value when compared to a single data point, so it’s necessary to have a long-term view.
The good news for prospective buyers is that when we take a more sophisticated approach and assess lasting trends, there is plenty of value to be found. For example, a five-year-old Gulfstream G550, which, while trading at a higher price than it was during the market lows of the pandemic, is still available at around 50-60% of its new price on the pre-owned market, which represents a healthy depreciation curve for buyers.
We’re now entering a period of market stability, so both buyers and sellers should be getting fair deals, with key barometers, such as fleet operator acquisitions, suggesting it’s unlikely there will be any significant drop in prices imminently.