The preowned business aircraft market continues to flourish with increased deals closing, faster selling time, and stabilizing pricing, according to the International Aircraft Dealers Association’s (IADA) first-quarter report. In the first three months, finalized transactions reached 333, versus 316 in the same period a year ago, continuing a five-year trend of incremental first-quarter increases, IADA said. Acquisition agreements swung up from 134 in first-quarter 2025 to 167 this year.

At the same time, aircraft under contract declined from 250 in first-quarter 2025 to 235 this year and exclusive sell agreements from 203 to 188—metrics “suggesting a modest normalization following elevated activity levels in 2025,” according to IADA. Price reductions ebbed from 43 a year ago to 26.

Also helping to fuel market strength are faster transaction times over the past six months, down from an average of 212 days to 150 days—a 29% acceleration.

During IADA’s most recent member survey, respondents viewed the market as resilient and disciplined, even with geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties. “The prevailing tone across respondents is one of measured confidence,” said John Odegard, IADA chair and 5x5 Trading cofounder and partner. Pricing is expected to remain stable to slightly lower overall, but possibly modestly up for midsize and large-cabin business jet models. Supply is anticipated to remain fairly stable.

With crude oil prices hovering around $100 a barrel, down from the peak of more than $112 per barrel seen earlier this month, some in the industry are pondering the knock-on effects on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and whether petroleum can rise so high to erase the pricing delta between the two. “It’s tempting to draw a straight line between high oil prices and a moment where SAF suddenly ‘wins’ on cost,” 4Air sustainability program manager Emily Tobler told AIN.

“In a severe scenario, where crude triples [in price], we could see retail jet fuel prices approaching the mid- to high teens per gallon in certain markets, but those prices would reflect extreme disruption, shortages, and rationing, not a healthy market where cost parity between SAF and conventional jet fuel suddenly flips,” she added.

In Europe, where mandates have required the use of SAF, the price of neat, unblended SAF has increased less rapidly than jet-A, Tobler said. Before the start of hostilities, neat SAF was trading at under $7 a gallon, but rose to $8.50 per gallon by late March. The “green premium,” the pricing delta between jet-A and blended SAF, has narrowed by 30% in that span.

“A more useful way to frame this is not ‘when does SAF become cheaper’ but what role does SAF play in fuel resilience?” she concluded.

Two pilots who were forcibly detained and held in jail after landing their Gulfstream IV in West Africa on December 29 have since been released on bail but are still being held in detention, according to information provided to AIN. Pilots Scott Schlenker and Fabio Nunez were flying a Brazilian family and landed at Ahmed Sékou Touré International Airport (GUCY) in Conakry, Guinea, for a tech stop. News reports claimed that the pilots were arrested for allegedly landing without authorization and violating the country’s airspace.

According to a CBS News Chicago interview with Schlenker from his hotel in Conakry, where he is being detained, the pilots had all the necessary permissions for the refueling stop. “We received our clearance, we took off, we showed up over here, talked to tower, talked to ATC. Bottom line is, they cleared us to land.”

Military personnel arrested the pilots, Schlenker said during the CBS News interview, adding, “They searched the aircraft five times and they didn’t find anything. The legal system here, you can’t even fathom.”

In response to a query from AIN, the U.S. Department of State said it “is actively providing consular assistance and remains engaged on this case…The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans.”

Helipatagonia is the first company to buy and operate an Airbus H160 in Argentina, following Rotortrade’s sale of the helicopter to the “Southern Cone” company. This H160 is configured for executive transport.

While Rotortrade conducted the sales process, it also arranged pilot training coordination and technical cooperation with Airbus Helicopters and Helicópteros Marinos, which assisted with the delivery, along with Airbus Helicopters in Argentina. Other entities involved in the transaction included Rotortrade México, Airbus Cono Sur, Sabena Technics, and local authorities.

Based in Patagonia, Helipatagonia operates from a private helipad at Lago Escondido and provides charter, adventure tourism, executive transport, heliskiing, helifishing, aerial photography, cargo transport, and wildlife control services.

“This project demonstrates our ability to coordinate complex transactions across regions while meeting demanding timelines, regulatory requirements, and operational expectations,” said Rotortrade executive v-p for Latin America Raymond Lubrano.

“Working with Rotortrade was a seamless and highly efficient experience,” said Helipatagonia operations manager Alfonso Naish. “Their ability to manage the transaction end-to-end, anticipate challenges, and coordinate all stakeholders made the process straightforward and reliable from start to finish.”

West Star Aviation offers expertise across all budget levels, including cost-effective solutions like the Send Airtext Moving Map, to help operators modernize their cabin experience without the cost of traditional hard-wired systems.

Texas-based service provider Galaxy FBO is taking over the operation of the former city-run FBO at Big Spring McMahon–Wrinkle Airport (KBPG). Located between Midland and Sweetwater in the western part of the state, KBPG offers an 8,800-foot runway.

Galaxy has rebranded the facility as its fourth FBO in Texas. The facility includes a 4,500-sq-ft terminal with a crew lounge, conference room, refreshment bar, flight-planning area, concierge, and crew car. An Avfuel-branded facility, it offers both full- and self-serve jet-A and avgas.

The Black Forest Ventures subsidiary is renovating the complex’s 43,000 sq ft of hangar space, which can accommodate up to a large-cabin business jet.

“West Texas, and specifically Big Spring, represents a strategic expansion into an underserved yet highly active aviation corridor,” Jeremy Gee, Black Forest Ventures Aviation’s managing director, told AIN. “With our presence at [KBPG], we’re positioning Galaxy FBO in a central location along key east-west and north-south flight routes, making it an ideal fuel and tech stop for both general aviation [and business aviation].”

He added, “The region’s proximity to the Permian Basin also drives consistent demand from energy-related operations, while the airport’s infrastructure, particularly its long runway and uncongested environment, allows us to efficiently accommodate a wide range of aircraft.”

SES has approved ThinKom Solutions’ ThinAir Ka2517 phased-array antenna for communications on the SES Open Orbits satellite network. The antenna allows for multi-orbit satcom on SES’ geostationary satellites and O3b Classic and mPower NGSO constellations, when paired with Rave Aerospace’s ModMan dual modem.

At the recent Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, ThinKom introduced another multi-orbit-capable antenna, the ThinAir Nexus, which has about the same footprint as a single-constellation electronically steered satcom antenna. Nexus will support geostationary networks as well as mid-and low-earth-orbit networks and will be available in the fourth quarter of 2027.

“Airlines demand and deserve flexibility and reliability as they invest in in-flight internet solutions,” said ThinKom chief commercial officer Jeff Sare. “Our new ThinAir Nexus solution delivers the most efficient and reliable multi-orbit, multi-constellation antenna to ever fly, now space-optimized for a smaller installation footprint.”

Although ThinKom isn’t yet targeting the business jet market, that could change, he added. “Our primary focus with Nexus, and that of our [managed service provider] partners, is the commercial airborne market, including narrowbody, widebody, and regional jets. This could easily extend to the VVIP/BBJ/ACJ markets if the integration partner and satellite service provider is keen to deliver the most flexible and future-proof solution to their aircraft owner/operator.”

Aircraft charter broker IsraJets has now joined the operational side of the industry, following its acquisition of a Part 135 certificate.

As part of a vertical integration strategy focusing on long-term growth, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company—which was founded in 2022—announced the purchase of its first aircraft, a midsize Hawker 800XPi, and the launch of its own service, IsraFly. It intends to grow its operational infrastructure carefully, rather than pursue rapid fleet expansion.

The family-owned company, which lists more than 300 clients worldwide, noted that operating under a Part 135 certificate involves a higher level of oversight. “Arranging flights is one thing,” said IsraJets founder Alex Milhem. “Operating them is where the real responsibility begins. If you want to stand fully behind the experience you deliver, you need to take ownership of how those flights are operated.”

French IT and software engineering group Infotel has acquired a 20% stake in aviation compliance and safety specialist AeroEx. Under the deal, the companies will jointly develop more advanced solutions for dealing with aerospace regulatory complexity.

The main initial focus of the partnership will be the development of AeroEx’s AMAS Aero cloud-based platform for compliance and safety management. According to the Swiss company, this helps aerospace organizations to streamline regulatory processes, manage audits and inspections, and enhance safety performance through digitalization, automation, and intelligent workflows.

Infotel has developed the Orlando platform for managing aviation technical publications and documentation. The cloud-based system is used by airlines, as well as maintenance, repair, and overhaul providers.

“This partnership allows us to combine deep regulatory expertise with scalable technology to address one of the key challenges in aerospace—managing complexity while driving efficiency and growth,” said AeroEx managing director Helmut Gottschalk.

Infotel indicated that it may opt to increase its holding in AeroEx. According to the French group’s CEO, Eric Fabretti, AMAS Aero complements Orlando and can create “powerful synergies between regulatory expertise and advanced software capabilities.”

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