Business aviation showed measured stability in the first quarter of 2025, with flight activity rising 2.4% year-on-year and transaction volumes recording significant gains, according to Global Jet Capital’s latest quarterly report. Most of that growth was centred in North America, where the US maintained momentum from a strong end to 2024. Fractional operators were once again the most active group in the region.

OEM backlogs climbed to $47.9 billion, a 3.1% increase over Q1 2024. Deliveries were up thanks to gradual improvements in supply chain and workforce availability, although the book-to-bill ratio slipped below 1, suggesting that new orders did not keep pace with shipments. Some manufacturers posted strong gains while others saw little or no change.

Sales activity improved across both the OEM and pre-owned segments. Total unit transactions rose by 25.9% and total dollar volume by 21.8%, with medium and large cabin models performing particularly well. High deal volumes contributed to a 5.8% drop in listings compared to the same period last year, marking a second straight quarter of year-on-year decline.

Aircraft aged 12 years or under became increasingly scarce, accounting for just 30.8% of all listings, down 28.3% from Q1 2019. Values for these younger models held relatively firm, falling by only 0.2%, while older aircraft depreciated by 3.6% over the quarter.

According to Global Jet Capital, market conditions are expected to remain broadly stable in the near term, though interest rate decisions, trade policy and wider economic trends could still affect buyer confidence.