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Pre-owned BizAv market remains sluggish: JETNET

May 29, 2013, Utica, N.Y. - JETNET LLC has released April 2013 and first four months of 2013 results for the pre-owned business jet, business turboprop, helicopter and commercial airliner markets.


May 29, 2013  By Carey Fredericks

Market Summary

Highlighted in Table A are key worldwide trends across all aircraft market segments, comparing April 2013 to April 2012. “Fleet For Sale” percentages for business jet and business turboprop market sectors were down in the April comparisons but increased slightly in the helicopter markets.

Business jets are showing a slow start in the first four months of 2013, with a 6.3% decrease in pre-owned sale transactions, and are taking more time to sell (97 days longer) than last year with a 3.5% decrease in average asking price. Business turboprops decreased 8.2% in sale transactions, with a double-digit increase in average asking price of 13.6%.

Both turbine and piston helicopters have shown double-digit declines in sale transactions YTD, at 25.9% and 18.7%, respectively. Turbine helicopters recorded a double-digit decrease in average asking price of 35.6% in the YTD comparison through April 2013.

Commercial airliners are reported by JETNET in Table A – Worldwide Trends, and include the numbers for sale for both commercial jets (includes airliners converted to VIP) and commercial turboprops. The number of pre-owned commercial airliner sale transactions, 667 YTD ending April 2013, showed a double-digit increase of 24.9% compared to the YTD ending April 2012 number. However, commercial turboprop sale transactions declined by 18.4% in the same YTD comparison.

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tablea_worldwide_trends  
Table A


 

Full Retail Sale Transactions and Average Asking Prices

At the close of 2012, pre-owned business jet retail transactions continued to increase, and since mid-year 2012 have remained above 2,200 (on a 12-month moving average). This represented the market high immediately prior to the 2008 world economic meltdown, after which a nose-dive to near 1,400 resulted the following year. In January 2011 the 12-month moving trend lines met for the first time since June 2008. After a brief recovery in the third quarter of 2011, the average asking price has continued to decline—a big concern to sellers—but has not dipped below the $4.50 million level, the 2005/2006 low average price benchmark. In fact, over the past 18 months, the average asking price (on a 12-month moving average) remains in the $4.50m to $4.75m price range. It’s still a buyer’s market, with ample inventory of most business jets at near-low average asking prices, as shown in Chart A.

charta_preownedbusjets4saleapr2013  
Chart A


 

Chart B

Retail Sale Transactions for pre-owned business turboprops have continued to decline since mid-2012, while the average asking price has taken a sharp increase that started in the 3rd quarter of 2012 (based on the 12-month moving average trend as shown in Chart B).

chartb_preownedbusturboprops4saleapr2013  
Chart B


 

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