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The Market for Existing Airplanes

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Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The article advocates for referring to non-new airplanes as "existing" rather than "used," likening them to real estate due to their durable nature and long-life potential, unlike rapidly depreciating automobiles.
  • Existing general aviation airplanes have shown significant value appreciation since the mid-1970s, with prices sometimes exceeding their original new cost in dollar terms.
  • This sustained value is primarily attributed to two factors: the rapid inflation of new airplane prices and the mature technology of piston/turboprop aircraft, which means new models offer only marginal advancements over existing ones.
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I don’t like the term “used” or “preowned” applied to airplanes. Those are standards of the automotive industry, and airplanes and cars have next to nothing in common.

The best way to describe an airplane that isn’t brand new is “existing.” That’s the term typically applied to buildings. They are either new or existing. You don’t buy a used house, for example. You buy a new house or an existing house. And airplanes have almost everything in common with buildings and real estate but very little similarity to cars and other vehicles.

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