3 Minutes in the Private Jet Market
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Issue 5 FLY-BY 3 Minutes in the Private Jet Market Factors Affecting Resale Prices Large, Medium & Small Cabin Market Summaries Post-Brexit Private Aviation Advice What to Know About Aircraft Financing +44 (0) 203 551 8007 ∙ www.colibriaircraft.com ∙ [email protected] Jets delivered by Gulfstream from 61 January to June - their lowest first half deliveries 127 since 2012. Minutes saved per flight using Business Aviation rather than fastest com- mercial counterpart according to a recent EBAA Study. €98 BILLION Honda Jets delivered in the first half of 2016. Economic output of Business 10 Aviation in Europe. $6,002,712 Decrease in the average 240 asking price of the Gulf- stream G550 since August Cubic feet of interior bag- 2015. gage compartment in the Embraer Legacy 600 & 650 - the largest in private jets. BREXIT & BUSINESS JETS What’s Happened Since the Vote Without question, the United Kingdom’s narrow de- The operating question gets more complicated. The cision on June 23 to leave the European Union will short answer is that it is too soon to tell any long term be one of the more significant election outcomes ramifications. But in the near term, operations of in decades. Since the referendum, our clients have UK registered aircraft into the EU and EU registered asked us: How will this affect the private jet mar- aircraft into the UK should not be affected.T he ref- ket? What does this mean for aircraft pricing? Do we erendum was a non-binding vote that merely high- need to change how we operate? Here is what we’ve lighted a narrow decision of voters. The UK is still a seen so far: member of the EU until the 2 year window expires With regards to the effect on aircraft transactions, on Article 50, an Article which, as of this writing, will we witnessed an initial shock reaction to the result likely not be triggered until April 2017. Operations but have since seen cooler heads prevail. Quite a few should continue as normal and under EASA regula- deals in various stages were cancelled immediately tions throughout the Article 50 period since the UK after the result was announced with buyers listing will still be a member of the EU. Keep in mind that uncertainty as their cause. In the first week follow- current EU regulations are significantly changing the ing the referendum, we had a few clients’ other busi- structure of operating a private jet and adding many ness transactions put on hold that resulted in their layers of complexity to it. This is a result of regula- aircraft purchase being put off. Since those initial tions put in place long before the June 23 vote and reactions, we have seen active trading resume. We not attributable to the vote to leave the EU in any have signed sale agreements and purchase man- way. dates with three aircraft for European owners, a sign Overall, after the initial surprise of the result, we have that the first fears of Brexit have abated. As a result, not seen a big decline in business with European at this stage we do not see a lingering effect of the clients. Clients’ businesses continue to operate and Brexit decision. create wealth for them - the true driver of people’s In terms of pricing, there has not been an increase decision to buy and sell private jets. The long term in the rate of market depreciation since the referen- ramifications, however, dum. Market values of most private jets have been are anyone’s guess. rapidly decreasing in the last 18 months, a trend that has continued. However, the result of the UK refer- Safe Travels. endum did not increase this already rapid rate of de- cline. As such, we do not see that the Brexit decision Oliver Stone has had any additional impact upon aircraft values. Managing Director PRE-OWNEDPRE-OWNED PRIVATEPRIVATE JETJET SALESSALES May- August 2016 Total 16 TOP SELLERS Transactions TOP BUYER’S COUNTRY 14 GULFSTREAM IVSP USA 83 CHALLENGER 604 Mexico 6 HEAVYHEAVY 10 9 Canada 5 8 JETSJETS CHAL 605 150 Tortola 4 G550 transactions San Marino 3 G450 7% to Buyers July was the busiest month for in Europe heavy jet transactions in Europe with 5 jets bought and 10 sold. 19 TOP SELLERS TOP BUYER’S COUNTRY MEDIUM USA 139 15 MEDIUM GULFSTREAM G200 13 JETS Mexico 12 CHALLENGER 300 12 12 JETS 800XP HAWKER CITATION EXCEL CITATION 213 Canada 7 800A HAWKER transactions Venezuela 5 5% to Buyers Argentina 4 in Europe The European Medium Jet Fleet shrunk by 9 jets this period. 19 TOP SELLERS 18 17 TOP BUYER’S COUNTRY 16 LIGHTSLIGHTS USA 175 MUSTANG CITATION 13 JETSJETS Venezuela 8 BRAVO CITATION CITATION CJ3 CITATION Mexico 8 JET CITATION 246 CITATION II CITATION transactions Brazil 8 Germany 6 10% to Buyers in Europe The Citation Mustang was the highest seller in Europe . ever, each financial institution is different. Some are very fast in turnaround and will not require as much as others, but be aware that some can take weeks and require extensive involvement in the transaction pro- cess. While the above is mainly targeted towards a buyer who is seeking lending, a seller who has a loan on their aircraft will also have certain considerations when they come to sell their aircraft. If you have a loan against your aircraft, your bank will usually choose to review your contract to ensure they are sat- isfied with what it contains and in what manner your closing procedures line out how the mortgage gets released. Each institution is different and some only How Financing Affects the Timing of release the mortgage when funds hit their account Your Aircraft Transaction (which can add a level of complication) and some will It is common for aircraft buyers to seek out financ- release it on the word of the escrow agent. And here ing for their aircraft purchase. If you choose to go this again, your bank will most likely want to run KYC on route, the number one piece of advice we can give the buyer. you is to talk to your financier before you start your air- The bottom line is to bring in your lender as soon as craft search. They will want to do two things: possible if you are planning on getting financing and 1. Ensure you are financially capable of repaying the give everything an extra cushion of time. Your lender loan. This credit process can take time so do this first. needs to be comfortable and aware of everything Timing will vary but is usually longer for new clients that is happening. The quicker they are brought in, whom the financial institution is unfamiliar with. the easier it can be for everyone. 2. Make sure they are happy with the aircraft you are interested in purchasing. In effect, your financier will actually be the buyer of your aircraft, so they will want to confirm the aircraft meets certain standards and criteria for them to lend against it. Your bank will want to see the aircraft and this usu- ally involves sending out a technical auditor to see the asset, review the records, and make sure it is in compliance with their internal standards. These re- views have become more detailed in the last 7 years. Pre-2007 saw lenders lending against assets they did not fully review nor complete due diligence on, caus- ing significant financial consequences after the finan- cial crash. Planning for these auditors to come see the aircraft takes time. They are hired and chosen by the bank and are usually from an outside company. This means you will have to work with their schedule as to The Devil Is In The Details when they can view the asset. A key part of an aircraft transaction is the transfer of Your financier will also want to review the Purchase maintenance programs. This sounds very straightfor- Agreement before you sign it to make sure they agree ward, and with engine and APU programs it often is. with it. They will want to run KYC checks on the par- However, airframe maintenance and parts programs ties involved in the contract. Furthermore, it is com- are often very complicated plans. The contracts for mon to have to plan your closing call around your these are incredibly detailed, and these details will bank’s availability. have an effect upon the cost to transfer the program All of these tasks can take weeks. With the contract, and for you to comply with your sale agreement. There they usually send it to their counsel for their review are also times when these programs do not transfer at which adds more time. We’ve seen KYC checks take all. Study your program closely so you can hopefully two weeks and auditor reviews up to 4 days. How- avoid any last minute surprises. 6 Factors That Can Affect Your Aircraft’s Resale Value Much has been discussed and written regarding falling aircraft prices as of late. Prices are going down and supply is increasing in most markets, but there are other factors at play that affect the value of your aircraft when you bring it to the market. Before you are surprised during price negotiations, consider the following aspects regarding your aircraft: 1. COSMETIC CONDITION Probably the most obvious factor to influence an air- craft’s value. To be blunt: nice interiors sell faster. They usually do not result in huge value increases, but they will significantly reduce the time to resell the plane.