Next week, business aviation converges on Las Vegas. NBAA-BACE 2026 runs October 20–22, with the NBAA Aircraft Connection static display at Henderson Executive Airport on October 20–21. For three days, the operators, dealers, OEMs, and lenders who make this industry move are all in one place — and the conversations on that floor tend to set the tone for the busiest closing quarter of the year. Here is what we think buyers, sellers, and charter clients should actually watch.
The Market Everyone Will Be Talking About
The backdrop to this year’s show is a pre-owned market that keeps getting tighter. IADA’s latest dealer report, covered by Aviation Week in early October, puts deal volume more than 20% ahead of the same period a year earlier — member dealers signed 334 acquisition agreements, up from 270, and closed 746 deals, up from 616. Dealers described inventory as the leanest since the pandemic, especially for clean, late-model jets with complete records and healthy maintenance status.
Pricing tells the same story. Asking prices for long-range and ultra-long-range jets rose during the quarter, and price reductions fell to 67 from 76 a year earlier. AircraftPost’s October data points the same direction: fewer sales, scarce supply in marquee models like the Global 7500, and results that vary sharply by model and category. Translation: this is not one market. It is a dozen type-specific markets, some starved for inventory and some softening quietly.
If You Are Buying or Selling
Show week concentrates serious people. The Aircraft Connection display is one of the few places a buyer can walk comparable cabins back to back in a single afternoon — something that otherwise takes weeks of positioning flights. If you are narrowing between types, that is worth the trip by itself.
What show week does not change is deal discipline. The temptation after three days of bullish hallway talk is to chase the next listing with a soft offer and a hard deadline. We take the opposite lesson from the data:
- Buyers: in a market this lean, speed comes from preparation, not shortcuts. Have financing, escrow, and your pre-buy inspection slot arranged before you make the offer — good aircraft are moving fast, but the deals that close cleanly are the ones that were staged in advance.
- Sellers: tight inventory does not mean any airplane sells itself. Buyers are more selective, not less. Records, pedigree, and maintenance status are carrying more of the valuation than they did two years ago.
- Both sides: the Q4 clock is real. IADA’s executive director expects a busy tax-driven fourth quarter, and year-end closings stack up against finite inspection slots and escrow capacity. If you want to close in 2026, the work starts now, not at Thanksgiving.
The Signal for Charter Clients
The same report carries a forward-looking note worth hearing: expectations of gradually more balanced conditions as new-aircraft deliveries increase, with a more meaningful softening possible in early 2027. For charter clients, the near-term reality is unchanged — tight fleets, strong utilization, and peak-season demand ahead — which is why we keep saying the holiday booking window is closing in October, not December. But if you have been waiting on the sidelines of an aircraft purchase because the market felt impossible, the next two quarters may start to open doors.
How We Work Show Season
We are a brokerage run by people who fly, so BACE week for us is operator meetings, type-by-type market checks, and honest conversations about what specific airframes are really trading for — not booth tours. That intelligence feeds directly into how we represent buyers and sellers, and how we source lift from our network of 500+ vetted Part 135 operators the other 362 days of the year.
Thinking about buying or selling before year-end, or lining up charter for the quarter ahead? Our desk is open 24/7/365. Call (858) 529-7860 or email quotes@onflyair.com and we will give you a straight read on your market.