JETNET: Business Jet Departures Up 3.5% to Nearly 4 Million as Pre-Owned Transactions Flatten and OEM Backlogs Reach $63.8 Billion

JETNET's November 2026 JIQ Market Barometer (Edition 9), which combines JETNET's serial-number-level asset data with WINGX's tail-level flight activity, reports that business jet departures rose 3.5% worldwide over the trailing twelve months through October 2026, to 3.98 million. North America accounted for 71.6% of departures and grew 4.4%. Africa posted the fastest growth at 10.4%, followed by Latin America (+3.3%) and Australasia & APAC (+2.3%). The Middle East fell 10.1% over the period, with activity close to 50% below pre-conflict norms, although recent weeks show tentative signs of recovery.

Fractional ownership departures grew 9.5% over the trailing twelve months, while Corporate Flight Departments shrank 5.2%. Average global utilization this year is 20.5 hours per tail per month, 11.3% above 2019. NetJets holds 13.5% of global activity, up 9.4%, and Flexjet grew 11.1%, while Wheels Up fell 28.8%.

On the macro side, the IMF's October World Economic Outlook raised its 2026 global GDP forecast to 3.1% from 3.0%, with 2027 held at 3.4%. The UHNWI population reached a record of more than 684,000 in 2025, up from 658,000, and US corporate profits hit a record $4.3 trillion in Q2 2026, up about 28% year-over-year. Crude and jet fuel eased through spring and summer but have since climbed again, and University of Michigan consumer sentiment stands at 48, near historic lows.

In the aircraft market, 2025 deliveries reached a post-GFC high of 814 units, above the 2019 peak of 804, and the 2026 baseline forecast is 830. Pre-owned transactions totaled 2,668 over the trailing twelve months, essentially unchanged, after growth above 15% last December. Total pre-owned transaction value was $18.59 billion. Average asking prices were $3.54mn for Small Jets, $5.01mn for Medium Jets and $15.03mn for Large Jets, and average days on market was about 93.

The four major OEMs hold a combined backlog of $63.8 billion, with Gulfstream and Bombardier holding roughly 75% of it.

For-sale inventory averaged about 1,728 aircraft per month, equal to 6.6% of the operational fleet, down from 7.3% a year earlier. Aircraft aged 16 years or older make up 74% of for-sale inventory, up from 70% a year ago. The global installed fleet has grown from about 11,000 aircraft in 2001 to roughly 25,700, while scrappage runs at about 1% of the fleet (253 units).

Activity is growing while resale volume is not. Departures are up 3.5%, utilization sits above 2019 levels, and the wealth and profit indicators in the barometer are at records, yet pre-owned transactions have stopped growing after a strong 2025 run. When flying rises and trades stall, the usual explanation is supply: with for-sale inventory at 6.6% of the fleet and three-quarters of it 16 years or older, buyers looking for newer aircraft have little to choose from on the used market.

That pushes demand toward new production, which is where a $63.8 billion combined backlog and a 2026 delivery forecast of 830 units fit. The split of activity also matters for how the segment operates: fractional programs are absorbing growth while corporate flight departments shrink, a shift in who flies the hours that shows up in the operator rankings as much as in the aggregate totals.

Two things would clarify whether the flat resale count is a pause or a ceiling: whether the 2026 delivery total lands near the 830 baseline, and whether the Middle East's tentative recovery lifts a region now running roughly half its pre-conflict activity.