The general aviation sector has been stagnant for quite some time. Some blame this on increased FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) regulations, many of which occurred after 9/11 to protect airports from potential terrorists; Unfortunately, these increased safety requirements and increased regulations have stifled the general aviation (GA) industry. The economic collapses of 2000 and 2008 did not help, although in 2003 the economy was flying high thanks to the Bush tax cuts and stimulus, then it hit a wall again and didn’t really do well until the period just before 2008. shock.

The GA sector has recovered only slightly since then, but has not returned to its 2003 highs. When Obama was elected, he criticized the Corporate Jets and Corporate Fat Cats, which hurt sales of new planes and planes. Remember when Congress went after automakers for flying their corporate jets to Washington DC for bailouts? Public sentiment against GA was at an all-time low.

All of this had hurt airplane cleaners and airplane retailers; It was difficult to make money, but it seems that things are changing and the number of GA planes is increasing. This new Trump administration is pro-aviation unlike the Obama administration. Lowering corporate taxes will also help GA and aircraft sales. Clear skies appear to be coming for those in the general aviation services business.

There was a great article in AIN – Aircraft International News – December Edition titled; “UBS Bizjet Index Sees Post-Electoral Surge”, by Chad Trautvetter published on December 12, 2016, which pointed out the following facts; The new Trump Administration in the US is widely viewed as positive: 61 percent of respondents expect the outcome of the US presidential election to be ultimately positive for the business jet market, while 11 percent do not see a positive impact and 28 percent are uncertain.

In fact, the article went on to note that there was a 44-49% increase in private jet orders over last year. Many of those planes will be delivered in 2018, and the backlog will increase used aircraft sales and current new inventory. Certainly more planes means more planes to clean and more new planes means more corporate detail clients as well. Meanwhile, along with the fractional jet market, we see jet air taxi services on the rise, as well as Uber-style jet-sharing plans that smaller businesses can accept. All of this means that the GA industry is ready to take off again and that’s good for business.