Unique Capabiliites & Exclusive Research
Nothing Good Stays Listed: Why Buyers Who Waited for a Softer Market Got a Tighter One
The first half of 2026 ran a clean experiment on business aviation buyers. When conflict broke out in late February, prospective buyers did the conventionally prudent thing: they paused. Transaction activity turned negative through February and March as purchasers stepped back to let the uncertainty clear, expecting to re-engage into a softer market with more inventory and better position. The market that greeted them in April was tighter and more expensive. Preowned business jet median values rose 3% in the first quarter even as transaction counts fell 10.5% year over year. Sellers did not blink. Inventory did not build. And the most desirable aircraft continued to trade within weeks of listing — or before a listing ever existed.
+3%
preowned business jet median values, Q1 2026
-10.5%
transaction counts year over year while values rose
6.6%
of the active fleet for sale, vs. 8.2% historical average
$1B+
in FNCC completed aviation financing
The buyers who acquired aircraft in the first half were not braver and they were not richer. They were faster — and the speed was structural, not personal. Nearly two-thirds of aircraft valued above $10 million involve multi-entity ownership arrangements that push traditional bank timelines to 68–100 days, against a market where a well-pedigreed aircraft goes under contract in eleven days. Buyers were not outbid; they were out-processed. With 100% bonus depreciation pulling demand toward year-end and every deferred buyer attempting to transact inside the same fourth-quarter window, the second half compresses further. In this market, financing capability is acquisition capability.
What This Research Covers:
The Experiment Nobody Designed: What the February–March Pause Proved
The April Market: Values, Inventory, and the Cost of Re-Engagement
Where the Inventory Went: The Off-Market Migration of Quality Airframes
The Execution Constraint: Ownership Structures and the 68–100 Day Problem
Q4 Compression: Bonus Depreciation and the Year-End Collision
Pre-Positioned Capital: What the Buyers Who Closed Did Differently
The buyers who closed in the first half had financing that was already underwritten — ownership structure reviewed, residual parameters set, approval framework in place — before the aircraft appeared. Waiting was not a hedge. In a structurally supply-constrained market, it is a bid for whatever remains.
Download the Research and Analysis
This report examines how the first half of 2026 repriced the waiting strategy in business aviation — and why execution capability, not price or credit access, now determines who acquires aircraft. Includes analysis of first-half transaction and inventory data, the off-market migration of quality airframes, ownership structure timelines, fourth-quarter depreciation dynamics, and a framework for pre-positioning acquisition capital.
Explore the Implications
Dive deeper into specific findings from our CapEx and Equipment Capital research with our thought leadership series:
First National Capital: Your Partner in Aviation Finance
The gap between ownership structure complexity and financing capability is structural—not situational. Traditional lenders were not designed to evaluate trusts, navigate multi-member LLCs, or move at the speed aviation transactions demand. First National Capital was.
Our Aviation Finance team works with owners, operators, and their advisors to build financing strategies that align with ownership objectives, operational requirements, and transaction timelines. We specialize in:
- Closing aircraft financing in 2–3 weeks—not 68–100 days—because we understand the structures and don’t require external expertise to evaluate transactions
- Navigating complex ownership arrangements including LLCs, trusts, partnerships, and multi-entity configurations
- Structuring residual-based financing that reflects actual aircraft value dynamics, not generic depreciation tables
- Supporting Part 91 and Part 135 operations with structures appropriate to each operational context
- Pre-positioning capital relationships so financing readiness never constrains transaction execution
With over $1 billion deployed in aviation financing across North America, First National Capital has the expertise, capacity, and execution speed to serve as a genuine strategic partner—not merely a transactional vendor.
Flexible Terms
- Transaction sizes from $500M to $100MM+
- Terms from 24 to 180 months depending on assets financed
- Amortizations up to 20+ years
- No Covenants
- Flexible collateral requirements
- Risk-based pricing yielding competitive rates for strong and challenged-credit
Finance Structures
- Sale Leaseback
- Loans & Capital Leases
- Project Finance
- Seasonal, Step-Up & Skip Payments
It All Begins With A Conversation About Capital Needs
We listen. We live out-of-the-box. We solve problems. And we get deals done. Let’s do this.