Business aircraft brokerage and consultancy Altea expects the preowned market to continue to tilt in the seller’s favor until at least the second half of this year. Aircraft pricing is already at, and in some cases above, their pre-pandemic levels, the London-based company said.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” said Altea co-founder and partner Jean Sémiramoth. “In January 2021, there were approximately 1,700 preowned business jets and 960 preowned turboprop aircraft for sale on the open market. Twelve months later, these have shrunk to less than 920 and 640, respectively—hitting new historical low levels.”
Turning to new business aircraft, Sémiramoth pointed to a vibrant market with OEMs revealing new long-range models and greater comfort. That includes the 8,000-nm-range G800 and 4,200-nm-range G400 announced by Gulfstream in October, as well as the Dassault Falcon 10X launched in May. Meanwhile, the Beechcraft Denali, Falcon 6X, and Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty all made their first flights in 2021, “paving the way for their entry into service between 2022 and 2023,” Sémiramoth said.
He also noted several model upgrades revealed last year, including the Challenger 3500 and the Gen2 Cessna Citation M2, XLS+, and CJ4. “But who will trigger first with the launch of an original design in either of these categories? Surprisingly, the first move may come from Honda,” which unveiled the transcontinental HondaJet 2600 concept jet in October, Sémiramoth said. “Textron may also surprise the industry with something entirely new in the near future.”