What makes your world go round?

Jay Mesinger, president and CEO, Mesinger Jet Sales takes the temperature of pre-owned business aircraft sales in his latest monthly column.

Some things float people’s boats, some things make people say: stop the world I want to get off. Each of these sayings are used to create a feeling of content or dissatisfaction with events, writes Jay Mesinger, president and CEO, Mesinger Jet Sales. I took some time to ask several of my fellow aircraft sales professionals what they are feeling based on the current business climate or what they are hearing from their clients.

They all felt that the industry was moving in a positive direction for themselves and their clients. Prices were holding in a way that, although down slightly and still moving incrementally in that direction, did not provoke anyone to fear that the bottom was dropping out. Each felt that the value their clients see in aircraft ownership was continuing, and demand was remaining strong. In talking to our clients, thinking about not having the private travel solution that they have, was not a serious contemplation.

Of course, there are always discussions taking place internally and externally amongst their clients’ companies, flight departments, or friends who are operating aircraft. Generally, the one topic that garners the most attention is operating costs. The salaries of flight department personnel have risen dramatically over the past few years. These people are vital to the safe, efficient and reliable operation of these assets.

However, the increase in their cost has created greater visibility, thus invigorating the discussions. Not sure these will ever change in a downward direction, as service providers can be one of the stickiest forms of inflation. Attrition, increased ownership, and usage, without a drastic increase in labour are just a few reasons this line item will likely not go down in the near term.

Subjects that make a few people say: stop the world I want to get off, centre around the disruption of use caused by the ever-present supply chain issues. Labour is top of that list. The shortages of experienced personnel at the manufacturers and MRO and maintenance facilities are continuing to cause serious discomfort for all. Just yesterday I had a client tell me about a six-week delay in the scheduled modernisation completion date for their aircraft. This will of course cause alternative lift costs to rise as well as scheduling headaches that will accompany this delay. Multiply this across the industry and you will see the dissatisfaction this causes.

Many of my friends I spoke with who are sales professionals shared a similar band-aid solution. Start by setting better expectations for their clients, beginning with the extended time it takes for the sale and purchase timeline. What used to be 30–45 days for a prebuy could easily now be a 60-day process. And that is just the timeline for the event and corrective action. This does not even speak to the lead time in finding a slot and starting this process, which we all understand takes as long as an additional 30 days tacked on.

So, to help the client or prospect ease their frustration, we are all being very careful with this delicate discussion of timing to adjust to a new norm of expectations. These strategies can only be band-aids simply due to the fact that we, as aircraft brokers, can have very little impact on a solution for supply chains and labour shortages.

By-and-large our collective constituents have been on the side of staying the course and enjoying the benefits of aircraft ownership and operation. They are feeling optimistic about owning and operating even in a world of added costs as well as timelines for maintenance and modernisation.

They are looking forward to many years of enjoyment. With respect to those saying: stop the world I want to get off, we are all seeing very very few people who feel as if they approached the ownership with not enough facts and must get out.

Thankfully, the vast majority of first-time buyers are enjoying the excitement of ownership. This all adds up to a sustainable world for our owners and all of us who service this distinctive group.