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The change isn’t so dramatic that you’d notice an up-bubble in flight activity and pre-owned jet sales – at least, not by looking out of the window. Inventories, an informal survey of dealers and brokers reveals, are down slightly overall – but more in some areas than others.

The economy in most of the countries in South America has been referred to as relatively resilient when compared to other nations during the recent worldwide economic crisis of 2008-2009. With a rapidly developing economy, the rate of recovery in South America is projected to be significant in 2010 as trade with China and the US is expected to reach large proportions.

The 10th annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) ended its three-day conference with sold out exhibit and static display spaces, 11,174 attendees and a general air of optimism that the global industry’s economic outlook is on the upswing. Halls 6 and 7 of Geneva PALEXPO and the Static Display of Aircraft were full with 436 Exhibitors and 65 aircraft out at Geneva International Airport.

Well, this was a major disappointment... I had expected the first quarter aircraft delivery numbers from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) to show the market stabilizing - perhaps even starting to rebound. Instead, the quarterly shipment report GAMA issued on May 10, 2010 showed the market continuing to fall, with total shipments down 15 percent from the same period a year ago.

Recovery is coming: To the economy, to business in general, to business aviation specifically. So says a variety of forecasts, outlooks and status reports – many of them focused on a specific aspect of the economy or business aviation.

If you are angry about outsourced jobs, be happy about outsourced airplanes. Thanks to BRIC – Brazil, Russia, India, and China – activity has resumed and prices have stabilized. For some dealers, there has been more activity in the last sixty days than the last six months. But, let’s talk prices. Most markets continue to be - at the very least - price-sensitive, if not price-driven.

Historically, about 60% of business aircraft customers have stepped up to a larger aircraft with their subsequent aircraft purchase. This has driven manufacturers and operators to offer families of products to serve this customer need and/or preference.

So it’s over. This ugly year that dashed our hopes and saw sales volumes plummet as the U.S. economy imploded into worldwide recession, has finally come to an end. We saw the business aviation market sink back to levels that, while they may have seemed pretty good three years ago, last year cost thousands of aircraft workers their jobs and left many of the manufacturing companies publishing their results in red ink.

As supply remains historically high and prices relatively soft, we continue to note that now is an excellent time for customers to purchase or lease a business aircraft. Opportunities to experience the benefits of business aviation are unprecedented, and the costs of entry are attractive.

It was a year that saw plenty of bad news, but in almost every instance there was usually some offsetting good news (however small) during 2009.