Business Aviation Market Barometer: Global Departures Hit 3.99 Million, OEM Backlog at $61.6 Billion Through August 2026

Global business aviation activity reached 3.99 million departures on a trailing-twelve-month basis through August 2026, up 4.5% year-over-year, according to the seventh edition of the JIQ Market Barometer, produced by WINGX Research using JETNET asset data combined with WINGX flight-activity records. North America accounted for 71.6% of total departures. Africa led regional growth at +10.3%, followed by Latin America at +5.8%. The Middle East remained down 7.0% on the year following a sharp reversal in February, with monthly declines narrowing from more than 20% early in the year to -5.7% in a later month.

Average global utilization stood at 21.0 hours per tail per month so far in 2026, 10.4% above 2019 levels, with monthly active aircraft approaching 20,500. Fractional ownership grew 10.3% on a trailing-twelve-month basis: NetJets held 13.3% of global activity, up 10.2%, and Flexjet grew 12.5%. Wheels Up fell 26.7% on a trailing-twelve-month basis, dropping below its 2019 traffic level, while Corporate Flight Departments contracted 7.5% on the same basis.

Pre-owned transactions totaled 2,823 on a trailing-twelve-month basis, up 3.5% — a slowdown from 16.8% growth recorded for full-year 2025, with growth cooling from above 15% year-over-year in December 2025 to roughly 3% by August 2026. Large Jets posted the strongest cabin-class growth at +17.9%, with 825 transactions, while Small Jets remained the most actively traded at 1,320 units. Asking prices softened: Large Jets averaged $14.38 million on a trailing-twelve-month basis, effectively back to 2019 levels after leading the pandemic-era surge; Small Jets averaged $3.53 million and Medium Jets $5.11 million.

Full-year 2025 deliveries reached 814 units, above the 2019 peak of 804. The 2026 baseline forecast stands at 830 units, with a top-end scenario near 853. The four major OEMs — Gulfstream, Bombardier, Embraer, and Textron Aviation — hold a combined order backlog of $61.6 billion, with Gulfstream and Bombardier together accounting for nearly 75% of that figure and Bombardier's backlog growing 35.4% year-over-year. Bombardier and Gulfstream each ran book-to-bill ratios of 1.5x in Q2 2026, while Embraer ran at 1.1x.

For-sale inventory stood at approximately 1,750 aircraft in a typical month, representing 6.6% of the operational fleet on a trailing-twelve-month basis, down from 7.3% the prior year. The inventory-to-transaction ratio was approximately 0.62:1, compared with a 0.85:1 norm during 2013-2019. Aircraft 16 years or older now make up 74% of for-sale inventory, up from 70% a year ago and 57% in 2015, while only 245 aircraft were scrapped on a trailing-twelve-month basis, around 1% of the fleet. The global installed fleet has grown to approximately 25,600 aircraft, more than double the roughly 11,000 recorded in 2001. The ultra-high-net-worth individual population reached more than 684,000 in 2025, up from 658,000 a year earlier, and is projected to grow at a 5.6% compound annual rate through 2031. US corporate profits reached $4.3 trillion in Q2 2026, up nearly 30% year-over-year, while the International Monetary Fund has cut its 2026 global GDP growth forecast to 3.0%, citing trade tensions and the US-Israel-Iran conflict.

The inventory data point to a market where available aircraft are both scarcer and older. For-sale stock at 6.6% of the fleet sits well below the 9-12% range the segment saw over the previous decade, and the 0.62:1 inventory-to-transaction ratio compares with a 0.85:1 norm during 2013-2019 — fewer aircraft are sitting on the market relative to how many actually trade.

At the same time, the aircraft that are for sale skew older: those 16 years or more now make up 74% of listed inventory, up from 70% a year ago and 57% in 2015. With only 245 aircraft scrapped on a trailing-twelve-month basis, roughly 1% of the fleet, retirements are not thinning the older cohort meaningfully, leaving buyers choosing between an aging resale pool and new production.

The combination of record order backlogs, a forecast delivery record, and a sharp deceleration in pre-owned transaction growth suggests the market is rotating away from the resale-driven dynamics that defined the post-pandemic years and toward new-production absorption. Pre-owned deal growth cooling from above 15% in December 2025 to roughly 3% by August 2026, alongside Large Jet asking prices settling back near 2019 levels, indicates the resale segment has worked through much of the pricing excess built up earlier in the cycle.

Fractional programs and OEM order books are telling different stories within the same market: NetJets and Flexjet both grew activity share while Wheels Up and Corporate Flight Departments contracted, pointing to consolidation of flying hours among a narrower set of fractional operators even as overall departures rise. Bombardier's 35.4% backlog growth and the 1.5x book-to-bill ratios posted by both Bombardier and Gulfstream in Q2 2026 show manufacturer order intake still outpacing deliveries, which is what is projected to push 2026 deliveries to a baseline of 830 units against a top-end scenario of 853.

Whether that delivery pace holds will depend on whether the demand underpinning it — a record ultra-high-net-worth population projected to grow 5.6% annually through 2031, and US corporate profits at $4.3 trillion — continues even as the IMF has cut its 2026 global GDP growth forecast to 3.0% on trade tensions and the US-Israel-Iran conflict. The next data points worth tracking are whether pre-owned transaction growth stabilizes near its current 3% pace or keeps decelerating, and whether Embraer's lower 1.1x book-to-bill ratio narrows the gap with Bombardier and Gulfstream.