AIN 2014 Year-End Report
For the first time since the Great Recession began—six long, frustrating, challenging years ago—I think the worst is behind us. New-aircraft sales volume, at some $21 billion, is about what it was before the downturn. And I believe the increased business activity we’re seeing within our company and in the industry overall represents a sustainable trend.
Granted, the number of new aircraft being delivered has declined. That’s due to the Great Recession decimating the light (and even midsize) jet market. But the recent (and historically disproportionate) popularity of larger, long-range, more expensive jets has kept the total dollar volume up. And what also makes me optimistic is what is happening in other sectors: the maintenance, completion and overall MRO industries are booming. This reflects more pre-purchase inspections of preowned aircraft, which translates to more preowned aircraft sales, which leads to higher maintenance volumes, which results in firming and then increasing preowned pricing, which ultimately produces an uptick in sales of new business jets.
Founder & Chair Emeritus
