Vol. 24, No. 1 Good Start for New Year in Used Aircraft Market Carl Janssens, ASA Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest Have you ever been involved in an incident when you actually made the news? I have. No, nothing in my life as the editor of Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest has been particularly newsworthy. But in my previous life as a 25-year veteran in law enforcement with the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, I sure can relate. In some cases, what I experienced in a particular incident and what I later read in the news about the same incident did not match my personal experiences in the unfolding events. Not to knock any journalists for their reporting skills, I am making the point that it is hard to report third-hand information. Instead of reviewing market statistics to summarize business aircraft activity, I m going to shoot from the hip, so to speak, and generalize my personal experiences with those I have been in direct contact with who were directly involved with an aircraft transaction. Business has improved. The only downside to making the deal happen is that the values of yesterday in some aircraft markets are not making a comeback. Breaking it down, late-model, long-range large-cabins are competitive. I can say this because reported values are not skidding downhill. They are holding steady if not improving. Time and condition do impact value. Looking at the mid-cabin class, sales are also rebounding, but pricing, not so much. Yesterday s sale price is stronger than today s. It is what it is. Light jets and VLJs tell the same story as the mid-cabin class. Turboprops, the muscle of short hops, heavy loads and limited runway environments, are showing a good steady trend of transactions. On the topic of values, what these turboprops are worth today will be a little less tomorrow. If I had to give it a name, I would call it standard depreciation. That alibi will just about work anywhere. Purchasing piston-powered aircraft is like buying a car. Who in their right mind would buy a new car as an investment? Reported transactions seem to follow my rationalization. I could not find one person who bought a piston-powered aircraft for an investment but plenty who bought for business use and even a few very few who bought for personal recreation. No discoveries were noted with values improving, but again, there were plenty of sales. I have been with the Bluebook for a dozen years now. Reporting on values would be difficult if not for the good support I get from all of you in the trenches making transactions happen. My sincere thanks and gratitude. Jet Increased... 3 Decreased...534 Stable...378 Early model Citation Xs were down this quarter. The Citation Mustang gained $100,000 when compared to the winter quar- 2011 SPRING 1
ter. The late-model, long-range, large-cabinclass business jets remained stable for yet another quarter. Mid-range cabin business jets were off slightly again this quarter. Check your Bluebook for specifics. Turboprop Increased...................... 0 Decreased.................... 70 Stable...................... 530 The turboprop market displayed little movement in values when compared to the previous quarter. Prices, still softer than previous reporting periods, were not eclipsed by the sales volume of aircraft. Multi Increased..................... 12 Decreased.................... 38 Stable...................... 605 In the multi-engine category, sales reports were better than what Bluebook received for the previous quarter. Quantity was higher while values remained fairly stable. Single Increased.................... 133 Decreased................... 280 Stable..................... 2095 There was a slight increase in values of the Beechcraft Bonanza 36 series. Reported retail values were slightly higher than the winter Bluebook values. Take a look in the Bluebook to see if your aircraft got the positive bump in value this quarter. Ag piston aircraft values increased this reporting period as well. Helicopter Increased..................... 33 Decreased.................... 79 Stable...................... 942 This market is all about time and condition. Overall, rotary market sales have been nearly the same in the value range when compared to recent Bluebook retail values. Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest here for you Please contact Aircraft Bluebook if you have any specific concern in a particular aircraft market. We will be happy to share with you the most up-to-date information available for your market segment. Call us toll-free at 877-531-1450 or direct at 913-967-1913. A product of the AC-U-KWIK line of aviation resources. 2011 Penton Business Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the U.S.A. PUBLISHED FOUR TIMES YEARLY TO COINCIDE WITH SEASONAL PRICE FLUCTUATIONS. SPRING (end Feb.) SUMMER (end May) FALL (end Aug.) WINTER (end Nov.) Bob MacArthur Senior Vice President Tom Duncan Vice President Frank Craven Group Publisher Paul Wyatt Editor-in-Chief Carl Janssens, ASA Editor Chris Reynolds Analyst and Associate Editor Jennifer Shafer-Doyle Sales Representative Susan Kohlmeyer Sales Agent Terri Cannon Customer Service Manager Dylan Goodwin Director of Production Julie Jantzer-Ward Production Manager Justin Marciniak Senior Production Editor Adriane Roberts Production Editor Brandy Ferguson Production Design Editor P.O. BOX 12901, OVERLAND PARK, KS 66282-2901 PHONE 800-654-6776 913-967-1719 FAX 800-633-6219 913-967-1901 2 MARKETLINE
2011 SPRING 3
Percent 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 USED AIRCRAFT MARKET VALUE 99.69 111.84 109.53 90 85 80 75 70 65 110 105 100 95 115 67.50 Used Aircraft Market. This chart displays each model s quarterly value in relationship to its average equipped price at the inception of the aircraft. The study begins in the Spring quarter of 1994 and includes the Jet, Turboprop, Multi, Piston and Helicopter. For all charts, the red number indicates the first reporting date after 9-11. 10500 10151.7 JET 10500 9500 8455.0 8962.5 9500 8500 8500 7500 7500 6500 6500 5500 4500 3500 1990 Model % Change Hawker 800 ( ) 7.7% Cessna Citation II 0.0% Dassault Falcon 50 ( ) 6.5% IAI Astra 1125SP ( ) 9.6% Lear 31 ( ) 14.8% Gulfstream G-IV ( ) 13.3% 5500 4500 3500 2500 0.0 2500 Jet. The jet chart depicts the average price (in thousands) of the six 1990 jets listed in the box. 4 MARKETLINE
1550 1500 1450 1 1350 1 1250 1 1150 1100 1050 950 1498.3 TURBOPROP 1466.7 1333.3 Model % Change 1990 Beech B King Air 0.0% 1990 Beech C90A 0.0% 1986 Cessna 441 Conquest 0.0% 1985 Mitsubishi MU-2 Marquis 0.0% 1990 Piper Cheyenne III 0.0% 1990 Cessna 208 Caravan 0.0% 1550 1500 1450 1 1350 1 1250 1 1150 1100 1050 950 1008.3 Turboprop. The turboprop chart depicts the average price (in thousands) of a 1985, 1986 and four 1990 turboprops listed in the box. MULTI 425 375 350 325 275 250 225 342.3 397.3 386.5 Model % Change 1986 Beech 58P Pressurized Baron 0.0% 1990 Beech 58 Baron 0.0% 1985 Cessna 421 Eagle III 0.0% 1981 Cessna 310 0.0% 1982 Piper PA-31-310C Navajo 0.0% 1990 Piper PA-34-220T Seneca III 0.0% 325 275 250 225 425 375 350 266.7 Multi. The multi chart depicts the average price (in thousands) of the six multi models listed in the box. Each model s year will precede the name of the aircraft. 2011 SPRING 5
164.2 PISTON 175 134.8 161.4 175 150 150 125 100 75 50 Model % Change 1990 Beech A36 Bonanza (+) 2.6% 1990 Beech F33 Bonanza 0.0% 1986 Cessna 210 Centurian II 0.0% 1986 Cessna 172P Skyhawk B 0.0% 1985 Cessna 152 Commuter II 0.0% 1990 Mooney 252TSE 0.0% 1990 Piper PA-28-236 Dakota 0.0% 1990 Piper PA-28R-201 Arrow 0.0% 1990 Piper PA-28-181 Archer II 0.0% 1990 Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II ( ) 2.0% 75 50 125 100 115.8 Piston. The piston chart depicts the average price (in thousands) of the 10 pistons listed in the box. Each model s year will precede the name of the aircraft. HELICOPTER 450 425 375 350 325 275 250 312.6 349.1 345.8 Model % Change 1990 Eurocopter AS350B Ecureuil 0.0% 1990 Bell 206B III 0.0% 1990 Enstrom 280FX 0.0% 1982 Hiller FH1100 0.0% 1990 McDonnell Douglas MD 500E 0.0% 1990 Robinson R22 0.0% 425 375 350 325 275 250 450 329.3 Helicopter. The helicopter chart depicts the average price (in thousands) of the six helicopters listed in the box. Each model s year will precede the name of the aircraft. 6 MARKETLINE
NASDAQ 5000 4500 0 3500 0 2500 0 1500 500 0 1101.4 603.7 743.4 4572.8 1498.80 5000 4500 0 3500 0 2500 0 1500 500 0 2341234 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 2652.9 NASDAQ: This ratio scale chart depicts the change for the NASDAQ daily average from quarter to quarter beginning at the end of the first quarter of 1992. Each data point represents the closing daily average on the last trading day of each quarter. This study originates in the first quarter of 1971. 05 06 07 08 09 10 U.S. Real Gross Domestic Product: This graph represents real gross domestic product measured by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Each data point represents the BEA s final figure or latest estimate of the quarter-to-quarter seasonally adjusted annual rates of change in real GDP based on chained 5 dollars. The study begins with the second quarter in 5. 2011 SPRING 7
AIRCRAFT ON REGISTRY March '89 December '10 4,558 6,080 26,968 8,288 10,981 10,035 20,991 13,652 187,662 198,800 50,000 100,000 150,000,000 250,000 Jet Turboprop Multi Single Helicopter Aircraft on Registry. The Aircraft on Registry chart depicts the number of aircraft reported in Aircraft Bluebook which are listed on FAA records and considered to be in the U.S. inventory. 8 7 6 CHANGE OF STATUS SINGLE MULTI Single: 3,396 Multi: 272 5 4 3 2 1 0 3412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Single/Multi. The blue line in the Single Multi chart depicts change-of-ownership data for singles. The black line represents multis. 8 MARKETLINE
CHANGE OF STATUS JET TURBOPROP HELI 1100 900 800 700 600 500 Jet: 658 Turboprop: 280 Heli: 232 3412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Jet/Turboprop/Heli. The black line in the Jet Turboprop Heli chart represents change-of-ownership information for jets. The blue line depicts turboprops, while the gray line represents helicopters. 11 CHANGE OF STATUS TOTAL MARKET 10 10,152 7,124 7,736 9 8,455 8 7 6 6,795 6,882 4,838 5 4 3412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Total Market. Depicts change-of-ownership data for all aircraft included in the Aircraft Bluebook. The numbers are from the FAA Registry. Gliders, homebuilts, airliners and other aircraft not found in the Bluebook are not included in this study. 2011 SPRING 9