By Rob Finfrock

CJP Director and jetAVIVA CEO Cyrus Sigari provided his annual update to CJP members on the current state of the light jet market during CJP 2016, and the news was largely encouraging for those looking to sell their existing Citation, or considering an upgrade to a newer model.

Despite global tensions and uncertainty ahead of the then-looming U.S presidential election, Sigari noted that the consumer confidence index (CCI) has largely returned to just shy of pre-2008 levels. “The headset of consumers today is actually pretty darn good,” Sigari said, adding that his company has seen a resulting uptick in transactions since September.

Following years of rising inventories for the Citation Mustang light jet that have served to depress transaction prices, the number of pre-owned Mustangs currently offered for sale remains “nearly identical” to Q1 2016 figures, with the number of aircraft changing hands gradually increasing. More than half of the existing Mustang fleet (56%) is non-U.S. registered, making it a bit more challenging for buyers to find an N-registered aircraft.

The market for “straight-CJs” – including early CitationJets, the CJ1 and CJ1+, and the M2 – continues to remain active, Sigari noted, with inventory levels declining to 11.2% of the operational fleet, a low “we haven’t seen in a number of years.” CJ2 and CJ2+ demand remains at around eight percent of total fleet size, with demand generally flat throughout the year.

Looking towards larger Citations, this continues to be a good time to consider purchasing a CJ3, with increased inventory relative to 2015 levels. (No CJ3+ models have been offered yet on the preowned market.) CJ4 inventory has also increased over 50 percent through the year.

This year’s CJP gathering in New Orleans carried special significance for Sigari, whose family settled in the Big Easy after emigrating from the Middle East. “They went to the most logical place you would go to as a political refugee from Iran,” he quipped, “I am probably one, maybe the second Persian/Cajun you will ever meet in your life.”