Market Insights 1 JULY21.qxp_MARKET INSIGHTS 20/07/2021 11:30 Page 1
MARKET INSIGHTS
Market Insights: Don Spieth, General Aviation Services
What are the latest trends and indicators of note in the pre-owned business airplane marketplace? AvBuyer’s Matt Harris spoke with Don Spieth at General Aviation Services to ask for his market perspectives… eneral Aviation Services, a full aircraft brokerage and consulting services firm that also buys aircraft for its own inventory, has offices in Palatine, Illinois, and at St Paul Downtown Airport in Minnesota. Having been trading for more than 50 years, the company has amassed a wealth of expertise, and today specializes in all turbine-engine markets from turboprops all the way up to Large Jets. In a typical year, the General Aviation Services team can expect to buy and broker anywhere between $20m to $50m in aircraft assets, depending on how the economy is performing. The General Aviation Services team consists of sales professionals and market researchers who offer expertise in specific markets, “but we work together to keep everyone informed, to better serve our customers,” Don Spieth tells AvBuyer. “Our client base consists of High Net Worth
G
28 Vol 25 Issue 8 2021 AVBUYER MAGAZINE
Individuals with one aircraft, and also Corporate Aviation flight departments responsible for a larger fleet of aircraft.” Don’s own career began in energy services and power generation, including gas reciprocating engines, turbines, and aero derivatives. Then, almost 10 years ago, he joined the Van Buren Advisors team, an analytics firm that specializes in quantitative analysis in the financial industry. “We partnered with General Aviation Services and AMSTAT to create an Aircraft Valuation tool to predict aircraft values by analysing historical business jet transaction data, and the macroeconomic influences that impact aircraft values,” he recalls. Having developed the tool for commercial use, an opportunity arose to join Greg Duckson and the General Aviation Services team to help clients understand aircraft values and market dynamics in Business Aviation. www.AVBUYER.com
w
