Altovoo.com Blog

This morning I received an invitation to bid on a Citation CJ2+ with less than 600 hours. Evidently, the stagnant aircraft market is forcing sellers to find creative solutions to off-load inventory.

Although aviation bids have been around for years, the most common form of auction is through Ebay, for  smaller aircraft (pistons), and under the open format. Basically, there is a reserve price to be met and one can see the other bidders’ bids.

The jet market seems to command a little more privacy, due to the sums at stake. For this purpose, jet owners and brokers are setting up sealed-envelope auctions. This is an appealing factor at a time of high criticism for business aviation. Also, this is a convenient format for any clients whom, for security reasons, like to keep low profiles.

On the downside, the terms for sealed auctions usually do not provide room for a pre-purchase inspection. In other words, planes are usually auctioned “as is, where is”, with a chance only for a timed book review and a visual inspection. On a positive note, if you are looking to buy an almost new aircraft, it will surely have manufacturer’s warranties left, so the buyer’s exposure is not so high and the chances of scoring a great price are quite good.

So , what would you bid for a 2007 CJ2+ with less than 600 hours?

Author: Barbara Abello, Director, AltoVôo.com