Trade in pre-owned business jets will outpace new plane deals by four-to-one as the global economy softens during the coming years.
Jetcraft Corporation, a U.S. based firm that provides aircraft sale, lease, and buying services, made the claim in a 5-year market forecast released Wednesday.
Owner & Chairman of the Board at Jetcraft, Jahid Fazal-Karim, said in an accompanying statement that people who previously only bought new aircrafts are now “more willing to consider pre-owned.”
The new forecast anticipates 11,765 pre-owned plane deals over the next five years, equating to $61 billion in value, and 3,444 new plane deliveries, representing $90.5 billion.
“New delivery units are forecast to flatten out as a result of an upcoming economic downturn, while pre-owned transactions continue to grow,” read the analysis.
Fazal-Karim said individuals and businesses who were in the market for a private jet could see that there were now better options for refurbishing and maintaining an existing plane.
The market analysis included planes ranging in size from light jets which can take just 4 passengers up to converted airliners. It highlighted that the average retirement age of a business aircraft has now stretched out to 32-years-old, allowing for better value in the second-hand market.
Jetcraft’s analysis tipped that by 2023, the annual global industry value of private jet deals will grow to nearly $30 billion. That view suggests optimism for the overall market, given that jet deals have yet to recover from levels witnessed in 2008 when more than 1,100 planes were delivered worldwide.
Jetcraft has previously said that in recent years, executives in large-listed firms have been prioritizing other investments such as share buybacks, stock dividends and paying down debt.
Aside from the boardroom belt-tightening, a reduction in planes bought has also been put down to a preference for larger and more expensive jets. Jetcraft said it expected this trend to continue for both the pre-owned and new plane markets.
