CJI London: Analysing the global market

Global business aviation ended the year 2025 on a high note. Industry leaders gathered at the Corporate Jet Investor London 2026 to decipher what this means for the year ahead.

The session, Analysing the global market, brought together Travis Kuhn, vice president market intelligence, ARGUS International, Andrew Young, general manager, AMSTAT, Matt Rosanvallon, sales and acquisition director, Freestream Aircraft and Simon Davies, vice president sales, UK, Middle-East, and India. Global Jet Capital for a data-inspired look at the global market.

The headlines were encouraging. The business aviation grew 5% globally in 2025. The north American region, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the world’s business aviation traffic, grew around 3.5%. Beyond the US, India was the hotspot in Asia’s market. Brazil and Mexico led their respective regions. Middle East also witnessed upward trajectory.

“There’s a lot of optimism as we look at 2026. We certainly foresee positive growth as we move through 2026 – and if the US hits 5-6% GDP, that number is going to go way up,” said ARGUS’ Kuhn.

Commenting on the pre-owned side, Young of AMSTAT highlighted that inventory levels have stabilised around 7.2% of the active fleet with inventory for newer jets tightening fastest.

“US GDP and corporate profits are the leading indicators of where our market is going to go,” he said, adding a cautionary note about the growing K-shaped economy and its potential drag on consumer spending.

Matt Rosanvallon struck an optimistic tone adding that: “Everything – light aircraft, turboprops, super-mid, long range – has demand right now. When all markets work together, it’s healthy and active.”

Simon Davies, however, flagged tariffs as the sector’s most immediate risk. “A plane that is apparently tariff-free could suddenly face a 50% tariff the day it’s imported,” he warned, noting that geopolitical uncertainty and the real trajectory of US GDP remained the other key concerns heading into 2026.