Now that the pandemic is clearly in the rearview mirror, it will be interesting to take a closer look at what changed between January 2020 and January 2024, and what those changes tell us about the future.
- Business Jet Departures slowed significantly at the onset of the pandemic but rebounded quickly. Currently (as we move into Q2 2024), business jet operations continue to demonstrate strong demand well beyond pre-COVID-19 levels.
- New Transactions or delivery data may best reflect the overall health of the business jet industry coming out of the pandemic period. As we begin 2024, business jet manufacturers are in a strong position. Despite high demand, pandemic-related production disruptions limited production. The industry backlog at the end of 2023 was 51% higher than in the same period in 2019.
- Pre-Owned Transactions set records for both unit and dollar volume in 2021 and 2022 bringing inventories down to all-time lows. Activity returned to historic norms in 2023 and we expect that pace to be maintained as 2024 evolves.
- Aircraft Bluebook Value rose predictably in 2021 and 2022 as high demand met limited supply. Aircraft values in 2023 demonstrated depreciation in line with long-term historical trends, and buyers are now seeing better value.
- The Global Fleet grew by 7% between 2019 and 2023, with the largest gains coming in the charter and fractional segments. Despite moderate unit volume growth, the value of the global fleet grew by 45% with all categories of aircraft participating. This will moderate over time as aircraft are depreciating assets, but unless we experience a sizable global economic disruption, much of this value is here to stay.
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