Aircraft Retailers – Now is your chance to dance and earn some money, honey
It looks like the 2016 presidential election will turn out to be a bonanza for the general aviation sector. It seems that all financial analysts, Flying Magazine, Private Pilot Magazine, the president of EAA, AOPA, AvWeb and Aviation Week and Space Technology are in agreement: 2017 is the year that will break records and set a good pace for years to come. What does this mean for those of us in the general aviation services sector? It means ‘clear skies ahead’ and profit too.
Apparently, unlike the Obama Administration, the Trump Administration does not see aircraft owners as a part of the Evil One Percenters, but rather sees them as winners. This is a good thing. New orders for Business Jet aircraft are already reaching record levels simply in anticipation of the change under the new administration. Financing for new jets is also following suit, while smaller companies are investing in Air-Taxi Memberships, shared flights and fractional plane plans. All of this makes things look pretty good for those of us who would like to get back to making money servicing all these new aircraft.
Aircraft International News had a special report in December 2016 on the status of corporate aircraft financing that said;
“Cycles for the US business jet fleet this year are expected to approach the levels last seen in 2003, according to statistics provided by industry analyst JetNet. At the time, there were 9,500 business jets in service in the US, there are 12,500 today. “
In fact, this trend is increasing rapidly. Okay, so what does this mean for aircraft retailers? Well, it’s a known fact that when aircraft owners purchase new aircraft, they are 50% more likely to put those aircraft on a cleaning regiment or regular customer program, which includes weekly washes and monthly details. It also means more use of current and existing aircraft, which equates to aircraft getting dirty in shorter time intervals. It also means that used aircraft will be sold again as new aircraft begin to roll back. People who sell used aircraft make excellent detailed customers.
Overall, 2017 and 2018 seem to be on track to break records in the general aviation industry and that’s just great news for all of us in the aviation services industry who would also like to have a solid couple of years to go. beat Records. If you already own an aircraft detailing business, it’s time to expand. If you want to start a new aircraft cleaning business, you have just received clearance to take off.