Summer is winding down and traffic has picked up around town as kids are back in school. This seems like a good time to update everyone on current market conditions in the pre-owned turbine aircraft marketplace. Before we know it, we will be entering the fourth quarter and there will not be enough hours in the day to stay on top of all the aircraft sales activity.
General Market Trends:
There is continued strength in markets across all categories of newer, current generation aircraft. Demand for these aircraft continues to exceed supply, especially in the Ultra Long Range Cabin market segment. That strength is also trickling down to the smaller markets, resulting in more buyers than sellers for large cabin, super-midsized, midsized and small cabin aircraft. Supply for these current generation aircraft is not quite at the historic lows we saw after Covid in 2022, but they are at the 2-3% level, which is still extremely low and is keeping prices very strong.
Contributing to this demand is the lengthy “backlog” for new aircraft deliveries from the OEM’s. Most manufactures have a 2-3 year order backlog and they have been slowly ramping up pricing on new aircraft delivery positions. That wait time for new aircraft continues to drive the valuation of newer pre-owned aircraft up, as buyers don’t want to wait to put a new aircraft in service. Almost new aircraft can sell for premiums above OEM new list price for buyers unwilling to wait.
In order to give a little more guidance on pricing trends, I have attached two charts for your reference. The first is a summary of trends in the pre-owned Business Jet market, and the second is for the Turbo-Prop market.
Business Jet Market:
Supply of all Business Jets has remained very steady for 2026. It currently sits at 6.7% of the fleet, though that can be misleading as a large component of that number consists of legacy aircraft, older than 20 years. Transaction levels through the summer have been good, and I expect Q4 to be another very strong sales quarter. Business Jets Market Snapshot
Turbo-Prop Market:
Although supply of turboprops has been gradually increasing since March of this year, late model low time aircraft remain very challenging to uncover. Pre-owned current production model King Air’s rarely make it to the open market these days without going under contract. And the slide in asking prices on this chart is misleading, because it is telling the story of the older models that sit on the market without selling, and not the newer models that never actually hit the market. Transaction levels remain strong, and again, this market is poised for a very strong Q4. Turboprops Market Snapshot
Projections Through Year-End:
Projections through year end are decidedly positive, reflecting measured confidence, despite geopolitical and macro-economic uncertainties. Global flight activity is strong, well above pre-pandemic levels. The airlines continue to reduce their level of customer service and reduce their city pair offerings making them less and less attractive to business travelers.
100% bonus depreciation remains in effect for 2026 and there are currently no tariffs on the books for international transactions that would increase the cost of purchasing an aircraft this year. However; if purchasing an aircraft outside the U.S., we would still recommend a strong “out clause” should tariffs come back to the table. All this points to a strong sales cycle from here through year-end. I would not recommend waiting until October to get started hunting for that aircraft to purchase by year end, as the competition will be fierce and getting pre-buy slots at good shops will be challenging.
I hope you find this information helpful. If you would like any additional market information, or some pricing guidance on any particular make and model of aircraft, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Kind regards,
Toby J. Smith
Vice President