According to a report from Global Jet Capital, thanks to improving flight operations and increased aircraft listings and transaction activity compared with pre-pandemic levels amid a stabilizing pricing environment, 2022 was a strong year for the business jet market.
The report found that in 2022 there was a 12% increase in flight operations compared with 2021 and a 19.1% increase compared with 2019. In addition, there was a 17.8% increase in flights in Q4/22 compared with Q4/19 despite a decline compared with Q4/21 (down 2.6%) and Q3/22 (down 4.2%). Global Jet Capital wrote that “much of the decline was driven by operations in Europe, as consumers and businesses cut travel in the face of high energy prices” while adding that it expects the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions to drive demand in 2023.
As operations increased, there was a 15.1% decrease in transaction activity on a year-over-year basis in 2022. Global Jet Capital noted that the “pace of transactions in 2021 was not sustainable,” so comparison’s between sequential years did not tell the whole story, with 2022 producing 7.1% more transactions than 2020 and 7.5% more than 2019. In addition, there was a 5.5% rise in dollar volume in 2022.
Global Jet Capital reported a 23.7% year-over-year increase in total aircraft listings in 2022, but it owed the uptick to “a low level in 2021,” as 2019 had 6.3% more aircraft listings compared with 2022. Meanwhile, orders for original equipment manufacturers “hovered around historical norms,” with Q4/22 yielding a 1-to-1 book-to-bill ratio.
According to the report, “inventory is expected to continue to gradually increase throughout 2023,” after rising to make up 5% of the total global fleet by the end of 2022. Global Jet Capital did note that such a mark was “still well below levels over the last decade.”
There was notable variance in the bluebook values of business jets in 2022, with a 58.1% increase in values for older aircraft compared with an 29.5% year-over-year increase in average bluebook values across all aircraft models in Q4/22. However, Global Jet Capital noted that “higher prices in Q4/22 must be considered in the context of the lower prices in 2021,” with Q3/22 actually yielding a more substantial increase in values compared with Q4/22. Global Jet Capital expects “a stable pricing environment will reemerge” in 2023.
In terms of its own recent performance, Global Jet Capital reported that it closed senior debt loans for a pre-owned Bombardier Challenger 350 and a pre-owned Bombardier Global 5000 in addition to an operating lease for a pre-owned Gulfstream G550.
