The mood music from the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) is clear and the message unequivocal – the used aircraft market is finally cooling slightly after the ‘frenzy’ of activity during the Covid pandemic.

Prior to publishing its Q4 market report later this month, IADA predicted that its members had completed more than 1,320 aircraft transactions totalling more than USD8.8 billion in 2022. This represents a modest fall against the 1,372 recorded in 2021. IADA’s 52 accredited dealers are responsible for 40% of the world’s pre-owned sales.

Another clear message from IADA is that bizav aircraft are no longer appreciating at the ‘unsustainable rate’ seen during the pandemic. The market is also seeing a marked increase in available inventory after the sharp decline created by huge increases in demand over the last two years. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had been a key factor in forcing many owners to place aircraft up for sale. China’s ‘zero Covid’ policy, which closed off domestic and international travel, had also caused a sizeable number of bizjets previously operated in China to head to the preowned market in the US and Europe.

IADA chairman Zipporah Marmor said: “The signals that we’re seeing from the broker-dealers in our group and our service providers are that the markets are beginning to normalise, and buyers are starting to become more rational. The frenzy of the last 12 to 24 months has calmed down quite a bit and we see this as healthy for our industry.”