Members of the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) closed 211 preowned aircraft sales transactions in the first quarter of 2021, with another 246 aircraft under contract to close in the next few months. The data was included in the Spring 2021 IADA Market Report.

IADA began tracking preowned sales metrics for business aircraft in April 2020 on a monthly basis as a result of the volatile market conditions caused by the pandemic. Transaction volume by member dealers reflects the overall health of the used aircraft market, because IADA-accredited dealers buy and sell more aircraft by dollar volume than the rest of the world's dealers combined.

Members average over 700 transactions and $6 billion in sales volume per year and actually registered over 1,200 global transactions, worth more than $10 billion, in the past 12-month period, from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.

“This IADA data clearly indicates that the aviation industry has proven its resilience through the economic fluctuations brought about by the pandemic, and is now on a trajectory for continued success,” says IADA executive director Wayne Starling. “Furthermore, a perception survey of our members indicates they expect the next six months to demonstrate a slight increase in all market conditions, with the strongest areas of increase in the light and midsized jet markets.”

The perception survey reflects the opinions of IADA's entire global network of accredited dealers, certified brokers, major OEMs and more than 60 of the industry's leading products and services providers. The Spring 2021 IADA Market Report is available from the association's AircraftExchange website.

During the first quarter of 2021, the IADA Market Report indicated IADA-accredited dealers closed 211 aircraft transactions, had 246 aircraft under contract and executed 119 acquisition agreements. IADA dealers were exclusively retained to sell 157 aircraft, and transaction prices were lowered on only 27 aircraft, while 41 transactions fell apart for one reason or another, which is about average for the previous three quarters.