Aircraft for sale on AvBuyer.com

As international businesses grow, airspace regulations loosen, and diplomats and celebrities take a bigger world stage, demand for private aviation around the globe builds. And while many people see the need to charter, lease or purchase aircraft, the selection of an inappropriate aircraft can become a safety and financial nightmare.

Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak to about 2000 businesswomen at a Women Business Enterprise conference in Las Vegas. I had been assigned the topic of responding quickly to clients’ needs and having a faster speed to market. What more perfect application for the benefits of private aviation could there be?

In our offices, we’re seeing a lot of movement in the large corporate jet market and the smaller, newer jets and turboprops. But those older, mid-sized cabin aircraft just don’t seem to be recovering like the others. At first I just thought this was a lag in demand, and it very well could be. However, lately I’ve become more and more convinced that it probably has to do just as much with financing as with the slightly outdated avionics and lack of fuel efficiency.

We entertain a lot of questions from our clients about registering on the International Registry. Many of those who are filing a US registration with the FAA wonder about the redundancy of also having to put the aircraft and its engines on the IR. The answer really lies more in strategic planning than it does in the short-term requirements to get the plane in the air after a sale, especially if you aren’t planning to fly it until the wheels fall off.

If you purchased a new aircraft in the last quarter of 2010—or new equipment, avionics or refurbishments for one already in your fleet—you just might be your accountant or CFO’s new best friend. With tax season fast approaching, our trusted number-crunchers are always looking for ways to save us money. And this is a good one!

One of my favorite things about being a journalist-turned-aviation-salesperson is that occasionally I have the opportunity to share human interest stories. And boy do I meet interesting people in this business. Like Tom Brokaw, I find the men and women of the 1940s and 50s to be among the greatest people in American history.

While in no way do I advocate government involvement in aircraft sales, there are some consumer protections in the over-regulated real estate industry that may deserve a second look in aviation. One of these things is title insurance. While the FAA keeps careful records of liens filed by creditors against airframes and engines, title insurance protects against the things that don’t necessarily show up in their database. For instance, financial crunches have state and local authorities scrambling f

Two thousand ten definitely ended with some victories in our industry. In the U.S., legislation renewed tax incentives for new aircraft purchases. Worldwide, buyers seem to be emerging from their holding patterns and looking at previously unheard of prices for new and used aircraft. Market analysts seem to agree that although we’re a long way from full recovery, it appears we’re on our way.