Key business jet industry metrics such as flight activity, backlogs, deliveries, and preowned transactions all increased in the first half of the year despite uncertainties that prevailed around ongoing trade discussions, according to Global Jet Capital’s (GJC) second-quarter Business Aviation Market Brief. Released today, the report notes, “Growth in Q2 2025 proved resilient, and the outlook for steady growth going forward has improved. As such, the business aviation market is likely to be healthy through the remainder of the year.”
In the quarter, business jet flight operations ticked up 3.1%, while OEM backlogs increased by 8.4% year over year (YOY). Preowned transactions slowed when compared with “a very robust” first quarter, but GJC said they were still up YOY. Aircraft availability also increased from the previous quarter, but still marked a YOY decline given the strong transaction volume. Jet values depreciated in line with historical norms, but younger aircraft pricing was more stable, GJC said..
This activity came against a backdrop where the White House had announced tariffs globally, triggering a sharp market decline in the immediate aftermath. “Despite the initial volatility, the economy stabilized over the course of the quarter and demonstrated continued resilience,” GJC said. Meanwhile, other economic indicators were more positive, including a 5.2% growth of China’s GDP. While uncertainties persist with the tariffs, GJC said the existing agreements, combined with better-than-expected global growth, suggested steady market improvement this year.
Flight activity improvements were primarily driven by operations in North America, but other regions also performed well. GJC noted that fractionals continue to lead this growth. GJC attributed this growth to the expansion of the business aviation user base over the last five years.
OEM backlogs, meanwhile, reached $55.5 billion as orders grew YOY and book-to-bill was a relatively even 1:1. Most major manufacturers have an 18- to 24-month lead time.
Transactions had stabilized in 2024, but unit volume increased by 9.1% and dollar volume by 11.2% in the first half.
With supply chain, labor shortages, and certification delays hampering aircraft deliveries in recent years, manufacturers are now increasing deliveries. This has generated an 11% increase in delivery dollar volume in the first half.
On the preowned side, unit and dollar volumes also were up, carrying momentum from late 2024 into 2025. Activity moderated slightly quarter over quarter, but volume was up 11.4% overall in the first half.