Post-COVID exuberance may be over, but the market for business jets remains robust, according to a new report from aviation intelligence company JetNet.
In the first half of 2025, business jet flight activity rose 3 percent year over year, and whole aircraft retail transaction volume increased 13.3 percent. At the same time, the average time needed to sell a business jet increased by nearly 20 percent, suggesting buyers are carefully thinking over their purchase.
Aircraft pricing shows signs of “normalization,” the report found, with the average asking price down 9 percent. But the average jet sold in the first half of 2025 was one year older than in the prior year, and overall inventory mix included fewer large jets and more small jets, which likely explains some of the downward adjustment.
Despite softening, asking prices are still above pre-pandemic levels, and aircraft are retaining their value. And high-price transactions are still taking place, with the highest recorded sale of the year so far hitting $67.5 million.
A total of 455 new business jets were delivered in the first half of the year, and JetNet projects that figure will rise to 820 by the end of 2025, which would represent an 8 percent increase from 2024.
“The first half of 2025 reflects a shift from the post-pandemic boom to a more sustainable growth trajectory in business aviation,” analysts wrote. “Although the market is no longer surging, it continues to operate at a significantly elevated baseline compared to 2019. Usage levels are rising, inventory is gradually building, and pricing is becoming more rational. Buyers, especially for newer aircraft, remain active. OEMs are steadily delivering new units and working through robust backlogs.”
The market is strongest in North America, where demand from charter and fractional operators remains high. By the end of the second quarter, business jet departures were tracking 5-8 percent above year-ago levels, a trend JetNet attributed to “healthy” corporate travel and rising flight activity in states like Florida and Texas.
Europe, on the other hand, is coming down from the high of 2024, when international sporting and cultural events like the Paris Olympics drove the annual baseline exceptionally high.
The Middle East and Asia, meanwhile, showed modest growth.
Analysts said factors like a broadened customer base, high utilization, and elevated visibility should make for a strong close to 2025 and a solid start for 2026, though “wild cards” could appear in the form of an economic slowdown, higher fuel costs, or armed conflicts.
