Last month we released our 5-Year New & Pre-Owned Business Aviation Market Forecast – the first report of its kind to take a precise, comparative and quantified look at both types of aircraft transactions.

Aside from introducing pre-owned market predictions, we’ve updated our overarching methodology as compared to previous reports, making it even more precise. We’ve shifted to a five-year rather than a 10-year outlook, to better reflect the current aircraft ownership experience, and adjusted the overall population of aircraft analyzed to more closely align with our expertise. Furthermore, we’ve classified new deliveries as transactions only from date of entry into service and retrospectively normalized classifications prior to 2012, when all aircraft built were considered new deliveries. Finally, we’ve leveraged more of our own transaction data for a truly consolidated outline of how we see the industry behaving.

Read more →

Product Overview

The Challenger 650 is the updated version of the Challenger 605. The Challenger 650 features 2 additional executive seats to accommodate up to 12 passengers, upgraded engines offering a higher thrust rate to reduce takeoff field length, and larger appliances in the galley to assist with faster meal preparation.

As of March 2019, 6% of Challenger 650 aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owner, the other 94% new. 3.5% are for sale with all of those (100%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale the average time on the market is 129 days.

Brief History

The CL-600 platform has evolved over the years with the Challenger 650 being the latest model. The Challenger 604 was introduced in 1995 as a major upgrade to the Challenger 601 – it was given more powerful engines, larger fuel supply, structural improvements to its wings and tail, and a new electronic flight bag. Ten years later (2005), the Challenger 605 was introduced with an avionics and structural upgrade from the 604 design. Ten years after that (2015) came the Challenger 650, which Bombardier first announced at NBAA in 2014 with NetJets being the launch customer. A total of 91 Challenger 650 aircraft have been built with 5 still at the manufacturer.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 86 Challenger 650 business jets in operation today. Most of these are wholly owned (66) with 20 in fractional ownership. 7% are currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of wholly owned Challenger 650 aircraft (56%), followed by Europe (29%) and Asia (10%). NetJets – US has the largest fleet of Challenger 650 aircraft (20).

Read more →

Jeremy Bogle, Executive Vice President, JetSelect Aviation

How long have you been at your current organization?

11 years

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

Help to oversee the operation of a 25+ aircraft fleet, to include sales, maintenance, and operations.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

It can involve walking a prospective owner through the operating cost of aircraft ownership, solving mechanical and crew issues, sales proposals, maintenance planning with owners, etc

What do you love most about your job?

I love the diversity in our side of the business and the ability to interact with customers on a daily basis. Working around airplanes is exciting but trying to stay one step ahead of your aircraft owner is demanding and requires attention to detail in everything we do.

Read more →

Product Overview

The Learjet 45 was Learjet’s first clean sheet design since the company’s first aircraft – all other models until that point had evolved from the original 1963 Learjet design of Model 23. This new model changed the Learjet line by combining the efficiency and price of a light jet with the interior space and range of a medium jet. It features lower maintenance costs due to longer inspection intervals.

As of March 2019, 96% of the Learjet 45 aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owners, the other 4% new. 10.7% are for sale with more than half of those (69%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale the average time on the market is 289 days.

Brief History

Bombardier announced it was developing the Learjet 45 at the US National Business Aircraft Association’s annual convention in Dallas in September 1992. The Learjet 45 received FAA Certification in 1997 and ended production in 2007. It was the Learjet Division’s principal product from the 1990s until the introduction of the Model 75 variant in 2012. A total of 248 Learjet 45 business jets were built, 6 are retired.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 242 Learjet 45 business jets in operation today. Most of these are wholly owned (232) with 10 in shared ownership. 5% are currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of wholly owned Learjet 45 aircraft (76%), followed by Europe (9%) and South America (8%).

Read more →

More than $150 billion in sales predicted
over the next five years

Jetcraft, the global leader in business aircraft sales and acquisitions, has released a 5-Year New & Pre-Owned Business Aviation Market Forecast – the first of its kind to predict both new and pre-owned aircraft transactions.

The new forecast anticipates 11,765 pre-owned transactions over the next five years, equating to $61bn in value, and 3,444 new deliveries, representing $90.5bn. By 2023 it is expected that industry value will reach nearly $30bn per annum.

Jahid Fazal-Karim, Owner and Chairman of the Board at Jetcraft, says: “This is the first forecast to precisely analyze both new and pre-owned business aircraft transactions over a five-year period. The findings show that our industry will continue to grow in size and scale, hitting nearly $30bn per year in revenue by 2023, a truly impressive figure.

Read more →

Francois Gautier, Founder and CEO, Blueberry Aviation

How long have you been at your current organization?

I founded the company in 2003 after 14 years at Airbus where I met and worked closely with Jetcraft owner Jahid Fazal-Karim. Over the last 16 years my team and I have developed two distinct activities, commercial aircraft sales and lease to airlines, financiers and lessors, and civil helicopter trade to operators, corporations and private individuals.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

I am a very hands on CEO, sharing my time between the commercial aircraft and helicopter commercial activities. I define strategies with the teams and am in the loop of most transactions, but leave the teams much autonomy including to suggest ideas and new directions. I am here if they need me. Meanwhile I focus on business development.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

There is no such thing as a typical day, especially as we have two different markets to cover. I travel a lot but when I am in the office, my door is always open and I am often seen sitting in one of the teams’ offices discussing opportunities and ongoing deals.

What do you love most about your job?

Building an exceptional team which performs well and has fun working together is the most fulfilling part of my job.

Read more →

Jayan Fazal-Karim, former Sales Engineer, Jetcraft
Location: Brooklyn, NY, US

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

As an employee, 3 and a half years, and as a supporter, 11 years. I’ve seen Jetcraft and everyone who works with us grow immensely over that time. Not to mention they have seen me grow from the time I was 15 when my father joined the company. I am proud to call Jetcraft family.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

Sales Engineers at Jetcraft are the designated right hand man to their assigned Sales Director(s). I like to call us their swiss army knife – whether we do things such as covering them for a showing or aircraft review, conducting market research, building specs, or creating thoughtful presentations for them to use, we do all we can to support our Sales Directors in helping them complete more transactions. I am very lucky to be able to support my father as his Sales Engineer.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

As is common with the answers to this question from our team, there is no typical day or week! As cliché as that sounds it is really true. Some days you are locked in your office rifling through emails, completing aircraft valuations, and reviewing specs. Other days you are hopping from FBO to MRO conducting showings and tracking PPIs, and some days you are at events all around the world interacting with some of the most interesting people our world has to offer.

What do you love most about your job?

If I could sum it up in one word: Variety. No task is the same, no day is the same, no location is the same, no culture is the same, no person is the same, no aircraft is the same. I love exploring and appreciating the differences in our world and what better job to expose one to those differences.

Read more →

Product Overview

The Global 7500 has recently entered service making it the largest and longest range business jet on the market. It features an improved design over the Global 6000 aircraft. The length of the aircraft is 33.71m, overall height is 8.14m and wingspan is 31.79m. The aircraft features a new high-speed transonic wing, which significantly optimizes its aerodynamic efficiency. The aircraft features an onboard maintenance system (OMS), datalink, high-speed SATCOM, next generation cabin management system (CMS) and controller pilot data link communication (CPDLC).

As of March 2019 there have been 22 Global 7500 business jets built and all have received a Certificate of Airworthiness – one is in operation and 21 are at the manufacturer waiting to be completed. One Global 7500 is in production. Two Global 7500 delivery positions are for sale and both of those positions are under an exclusive broker agreement. One delivery position has been on the market for 41 days, the other for 1,603 days.

Brief History

Originally named the Global 7000, the model was renamed the Global 7500 after its extended range was announced in 2018. Type certification with Transport Canada was completed in September 2018, the FAA in November 2018, and the European Aviation Safety Agency signed off on the new model in early February 2019. The Global 7500 had 100 secured orders as it entered service on 20 December 2018. VistaJet Charter operator (30), and NetJets fractional provider (20) have a combined total of 50 orders.

Read more →

This article first appeared in AvBuyer. Their posting of the article can be viewed here.

By David Dixon, President of Jetcraft Asia

Asia has been my adopted home since the early 1980s, when business aviation was all but non-existent in places like China, Hong Kong and Japan. What little activity there was could be found in areas such as the Philippines, Australia and Indonesia.

At the time very few people could have predicted that, as a socialist state, China would come to adopt the ultimate capitalist business tool – the private jet. But when Deng Xiaoping opened up China to foreign investment in the 1980s, the rapid growth of the Chinese economy meant business aviation could begin to take off.

The Tiger economy effect

20 years later, Asia was on everyone’s minds. Extreme growth areas, known as Tiger economies, had sprung up across the region and OEMs were scrambling for a China strategy.

While economic growth was rapid and high, the Asian business aviation market did not progress in the same way as that in the US or Europe. The attitude amongst buyers was ‘buy now, buy new’, and the main aircraft of interest were long-range, wide-body models. As a result, the area quickly became dominated by Gulfstream V and Bombardier Global Express aircraft.

Read more →