Business aviation demonstrated continued resilience in the fourth quarter, marked by increased flight operations and strong manufacturer backlogs, according to Global Jet Capital’s latest Business Aviation Market Brief. Flight operations rose 2.4% year over year (YOY) in the quarter, while OEM backlogs reached $48.5 billion—a 7.2% YOY increase.

The report highlights a notable shift in market dynamics, with preowned jet inventory at 7.5% at the end of 2024, up from 6.9% a year earlier but still below the decade’s average of approximately 10%. Availability of younger aircraft tightened further, with 12-year-old and newer aircraft declining from 5.6% to 5% quarter over quarter.

Transaction volumes stabilized throughout 2024, with new-production business jet deliveries increasing 1.7% for the year. Dollar volume showed more substantial growth, rising 12.5%, driven primarily by strong demand for heavy jets. Despite ongoing supply chain and labor constraints, OEMs made progress in addressing production challenges.

Aircraft values demonstrated stability through the quarter, with like-aged aircraft values remaining nearly level YOY, increasing just 0.1%. However, the market showed a distinction between newer and older aircraft. During the quarter, values for aircraft 13 years and older fell 2.9%, while those for younger aircraft rose 1.3%.

Regarding flight operations, the fractional segment remained the strongest performer in 2024. North American flight activity drove the fourth-quarter increase, while Europe, the Middle East, and Africa saw declines.

GAMA officials last week painted a bright future for the general aviation industry with billings topping $30 billion and an economic study showing that it contributes more than $450 billion to U.S. and European economies combined. But several issues threaten to cloud that picture, including taxes, tariffs, and regulations, they told the audience at GAMA’s annual State of the Industry event on Wednesday.

“It was truly the year that we proved that general aviation is integral to society and just the welfare that we have around the planet,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce, pointing to not only the economic impact studies released in the U.S. and Europe but also the humanitarian efforts.

“As we look at both sides of the Atlantic, we need to talk and boast about the importance of our sector,” Bunce said, warning about the harm of taxes in Europe. “These taxes aren’t what we thought about three or four years ago that dealt just with sustainability,” he said. “These taxes are debilitative taxes that are simply going to the revenue for France or for other countries.”

He also warned of severe consequences that would accompany tariffs given the complexity of a highly-regulated supply chain and expressed concerns about regulatory reforms faltering under White House policies that could require 10 rulemakings to be eliminated for every new one.

FBO operator Freeman Holdings Group has expanded its network with the addition of two Texas locations, representing its first foray in the Lone Star state. As the largest licensee of the Million Air chain, Freeman operates 15 FBOs under that brand, in addition to six Freeman Jet Centers.

The former Lubbock Aero facility—the sole aviation services provider at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (KLBB), in operation since 1990—will be rebranded as Million Air Lubbock. At Abilene Regional Airport (KABI), Abilene Aero—the lone FBO that dates back to the 1960s—will be known as Freeman Jet Center Abilene.

Both locations offer onsite maintenance as factory service centers for Textron Aviation and Cirrus aircraft. They will remain branded Avfuel dealers and participate in the fuel distributor’s contract fuel and customer loyalty programs.

“The addition of Million Air Lubbock and Freeman Jet Center Abilene underscores our commitment to expanding our network of premium FBO locations and bolstering our exceptional services,” said company CEO Scott Freeman. “We are excited to welcome these new locations into the Freeman Holdings Group family and look forward to delivering unparalleled experiences to our customers in Texas and beyond.”

Honeywell and Dassault have signed an agreement to equip Falcon business jets with the JetWave X (JWX) satcom, the latest version of Honeywell’s Ka-band system that runs on Viasat’s Global Xpress and ViaSat-3 satellites. JWX systems will be available in 2026 for both forward-fit and retrofit installations.

JWX seamlessly combines access to the two Viasat satellite networks to provide more global capacity. In addition to ViaSat-3 and Global Xpress (formerly Inmarsat) satellites in geostationary orbit, ViaSat’s GX10A and B satellites in highly elliptical orbits will soon provide coverage over the Arctic. System speeds are uncapped, with downloads up to 200 Mbps. Service plans start at $2,795 per month for regional coverage and uncapped global plans are “competitively priced,” according to Honeywell.

The JWX open-architecture design enables access to future Ka-band satcom networks, “making it network-agnostic and future-proof,” Honeywell said. Upgrading from JetWave to JWX will involve “minor structural and wiring modifications.”

Falcon jet operators can use FalconConnect “to access networks including 3G/4G on ground, Wi-Fi, Inmarsat L-band, datalink, Iridium Classic and Next, Viasat Ku- and Ka-bands, or Jet ConneX Ka-band. It is also expandable to accommodate future developments.”

The first JWX supplemental type certificate for Falcons will be for the 900 series in the third quarter, with similar approvals planned to follow for the Falcon 2000 series, 6X, 7X, 8X, and 10X.

Arcadea Group has launched Vellox Group to create an aviation software platform integrating four formerly independent companies: Spidertracks, Air Maestro, Flight Vector, and Complete Flight. According to Bernie Berg, chief product officer (CPO) of Vellox, the platform has been operating for four months with “minimal—if any—operational disturbances.”

Vellox serves a range of aircraft operators—medical, industrial, public safety, energy, tourism, defense, charter, and government sectors—with a focus on fleet management, safety management systems, dispatch and planning, and operational management.

Former Air Maestro and Spidertracks CEO Aleksandra Banas is Vellox's CEO, with Complete Flight founder and CEO Berg serving as CPO, and Flight Vector founder and CEO Scot Cromer moving to the Vellox board.

Vellox is boosted by Arcadea’s additional $20 million commitment to support the growth of the consolidated company. “As the only permanent owner of aviation software businesses, we prioritize long-term innovation and customer health over short-term motives,” said Paul Yancich, managing director and co-founder of Arcadea Group.

“We’ve blended some of the industry’s best solutions into a cohesive platform that drives unprecedented efficiency and safety,” said Banas. “This isn’t just a collection of tools—it’s an integrated solution designed to meet the global demands of today’s leading aviation operators.”

The International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) has welcomed the increase in 2024 general aviation (GA) aircraft deliveries reported by GAMA on Wednesday. The data showed a 3% increase in airplane shipments to 3,162 units, while billings soared by 14.3% to $26.7 billion.

“The increase in new aircraft deliveries—particularly in the turbine-powered segment—is fueling activity in the preowned business aircraft market, where IADA dealers played a significant role in 2024,” said IADA chair Phil Winters, who is also v-p of aircraft sales and charter management for Greenwich AeroGroup and Western Aircraft. “Most buyers of new aircraft also have an aircraft to sell, which drives healthy turnover in the marketplace.”

Winters emphasized the importance of a robust pipeline of new-production aircraft to stimulate the resale market to help both buyers and sellers. He also recognized the eight aircraft manufacturers within IADA “whose efforts are essential to balancing supply and demand across the industry.”

According to IADA, its accredited dealers, members selling verified products and services, and aircraft manufacturers contribute significantly to general aviation’s worldwide economic impact. Members conduct business in more than 100 countries with a combined average of around 1,300 aircraft transactions worth $11.7 billion annually.

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) is continuing his push to go after “fat cats,” reintroducing legislation to raise fuel taxes on business jets from 22 cents to $2 per gallon. Initially introduced in 2023, the Fueling Alternative Transportation with a Carbon Aviation Tax (FATCAT) Act (S.173) would increase fuel taxes to the equivalent of an estimated $200 per tonne of a private jet’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, as well as remove fuel tax exemptions for logging and oil/gas exploration, Markey said.

Under the bill, increased revenue from the taxes would be channeled into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and a newly created Clean Communities Trust Fund. The latter fund would support air monitoring for disadvantaged communities, as well as provide investments for “clean, affordable” public transportation such as passenger rail and bus routes near commercial airports.

Similar legislation also had been introduced in the House in 2023 by Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-New York) but neither her bill nor Markey’s gained traction in the last Congress. With a Republican-led Congress, environmentally-based legislation such as this may face even more reluctance.

However, it underscores a continual theme involving the views of these lawmakers as environmentalists target business aviation. “It is time to make billionaire fat cats pay the absolute bare minimum to fly private jets and prioritize clean public transportation,” Markey said.

Tell us about the product support you receive from business aviation OEMs. The 2025 AIN Product Support Survey is now open, ready for selected readers to rate aircraft, engine, and avionics support. AIN readers who have been picked to participate in this year’s Product Support Survey should have received their password and link to the online survey by e-mail. The survey needs to be completed by midnight on June 1.