Want to be fly like a G6? Now may be the right time to get into the market.
The trade-in value for private jets has declined by as much as 50 percent, according to the New York Post. The once-resilient jets that depreciated by an average of just 2 percent per year, according to Private Jet Co. CEO Dan Jennings, are now seeing their A-list patrons abandon ship -- or plane -- altogether (h/t Gawker).
Foreign jet-seekers, particularly from emerging economies like Brazil and China, are taking advantage of what appears to be a buyer’s market, picking up the popular Gulfstream 5 model for as low as $20 million, according to the NYP.
The lower prices may also spell an opportunity for charter and rental companies that offer the use of private jets without the high cost of ownership. Recently, private jet charter company ExcelAire expanded its fleet by three. Meanwhile, membership-based Surf Air is is offering members 11 flights within California for less than $1,000 a month.
While the luxury industry has shown resilience to a down economy over the past few years, things may finally be unravelling for the sector selling to the one percent. Buyers can get European castles at bargain prices thanks to flagging demand. And things are looking down in the private island business as well, as prices have fallen 20 to 80 percent, CNBC reports. Even the luxury car dealers are struggling in places like India and Hong Kong, where the sector had recently been booming, The Economic Times reports.
And luxury conglomerate LVMH, whose brands Hennessy and Louis Vuitton have been made famous in countless rap songs, ain’t what it used to be. Between April and June of this year, the luxury producer had its slowest quarterly growth since 2009, the Wall Street Journal reports.