Requirement & mission analysis
Passengers, typical and longest sectors, runway and airport constraints, cabin expectations, ownership and operating structure, and the budget envelope — captured before any aircraft is discussed.
Sales & Acquisition
Aircraft Sales & Acquisition Advisory
Confidential buy-side and sell-side advisory for private jets, commercial aircraft and freighters — requirement definition, validated off-market sourcing, due-diligence coordination and closing support. We hold no inventory and take no title; our interest is in the right aircraft, not a particular one.
Buy Side
For Buyers & Acquirers
Buying the wrong aircraft well is more expensive than buying the right aircraft slowly. The work starts with the mission, not with the listings.
Aircraft acquisition services for buyers
On-market and credible off-market sourcing
Public listings reviewed alongside opportunities that are not advertised. Off-market only counts once authority to offer and aircraft identity have been validated.
Authority & ownership validation
We establish who actually controls the aircraft and who is authorised to sell it before spending your time — or your money — on it.
Shortlist, comparison & market context
A structured comparison of candidate airframes with specification differences, maintenance status, records quality and the market context behind the asking prices.
Offer strategy & LOI
Positioning the offer, structuring deposits and conditions, and negotiating the letter of intent alongside your legal advisers.
Pre-purchase inspection coordination
Facility selection, scope definition, attendance planning and management of the discrepancy list, with independent technical representation where you want it.
Specialist coordination
Title and lien searches, escrow, registration, import and export, insurance and tax counsel — coordinated with the independent specialists appointed for the transaction.
Delivery & entry into service
Acceptance, delivery logistics, management-company and crew introductions where required, and support through the first weeks of operation.
Sell Side
For Sellers & Owners
A disposition is a controlled disclosure exercise. Who sees what, when, and on what authority is the whole job.
Aircraft disposition services for sellers
Valuation & market positioning support
Comparable evidence, current supply on your type and an honest view of where the aircraft should be positioned — including when the market is telling you to wait.
Sanitised marketing materials
Specification summaries and imagery prepared so the aircraft can be shown to qualified parties without publishing your identity or its identifiers.
Buyer qualification
Proof of financial capability at the appropriate stage, so inspections and data-room access are granted to genuine buyers rather than to intermediaries testing the market.
Controlled disclosure & data room
Staged release of specification, records and identifiers under non-disclosure, with a documented record of who has seen what.
Written authority & non-circumvention
We work on written authority to market, and use non-disclosure and non-circumvention agreements where the situation warrants them.
Negotiation, PPI & closing coordination
Offer negotiation, inspection management, discrepancy resolution and coordination of escrow, title transfer and delivery with the appointed specialists.
Discipline
What 'Credible Off-Market' Means
Credible off-market aircraft sourcing
A genuine off-market opportunity is simply an aircraft whose owner is open to a sale without advertising it. It is still verifiable: there is an owner, a chain of authority, an identifiable airframe and a records position.
Before we introduce anything to a client we want to establish who owns the aircraft, who is authorised to offer it and on what basis, that the specification quoted matches the actual airframe, and that disclosure can be staged under confidentiality. Where that cannot be established, we say so rather than pass the material on.
The same discipline applies to purchase-to-lease and investor-backed structures. We can bring together a credible aircraft opportunity, a qualified buyer or investor and a prospective lessee, and coordinate the conversation — but every such transaction remains subject to independent commercial, legal, technical, regulatory and credit due diligence. Where the requirement is capacity rather than ownership, our ACMI and aircraft leasing service is usually the better route.
Market Coverage
From Turboprops to Freighters
Aircraft market segments covered
| Segment | Representative models |
|---|---|
| Turboprops & light jets | King Air, Phenom 300, Citation CJ series |
| Midsize & super-midsize | Citation Latitude and Longitude, Challenger 350, Praetor 600 |
| Heavy & long range | Falcon 7X and 8X, Challenger 650, Gulfstream G550 |
| Ultra long range | Gulfstream G650 and G700, Global 6000 and 7500, Falcon 6X |
| VIP airliners | ACJ and BBJ family, widebody VIP conversions |
| Commercial & freighter | A320 and 737 family, regional jets, freighter conversions |
We do not publish price guidance. Values move with maintenance status, records quality, programme enrolment, configuration and current supply, and any figure quoted out of that context would mislead more than it helps.
Transaction Stages
How a Transaction Actually Runs
Timing depends on the type, the records, the inspection scope and the registry. We map the critical path at engagement rather than promising a fixed number of weeks.
Aircraft transaction stages
01
Engagement & Brief
Scope, confidentiality and the basis of our engagement agreed in writing. For buyers, the mission analysis; for sellers, the authority to market and the disclosure plan.
02
Search or Market Preparation
Buyers: on-market and off-market candidates identified and validated. Sellers: valuation context, sanitised materials and the qualified buyer approach list prepared.
03
Shortlist & Qualification
Candidates compared on specification, maintenance status, records and price context. Counterparties qualified on both authority and financial capability.
04
LOI & Deposit
Heads of terms and a letter of intent negotiated, with deposit terms and inspection conditions defined before technical spend begins.
05
Pre-Purchase Inspection
Inspection at an agreed facility under an agreed scope, with records review running in parallel and discrepancies negotiated as they emerge.
06
Closing & Delivery
Escrow, bill of sale, title and lien clearance, deregistration and registration, import or export formalities, and delivery to the new operating base.
Valuation
What Moves the Number
Aircraft valuation factors
- Age and total time and cycles on the airframe.
- Utilisation pattern — a lightly flown aircraft is not automatically the better buy.
- Maintenance status and time remaining to the next major inspection.
- Engine and APU programme enrolment and its transferability.
- Damage history and the quality of the repair documentation.
- Cabin and avionics configuration, including mandated equipment compliance.
- Completeness and legibility of the records — poor records reduce value materially.
- Registration jurisdiction, import status and the tax position of the transaction.
- Current supply of the type on the market and how long comparable aircraft are taking to sell.
- Agreed delivery condition, which can move the effective price more than the headline number.
Protection
How We Protect Both Sides
Written authority
We act on documented authority — to buy, to market or to search — and expect the same from the parties we deal with.
Controlled introductions
Identifiers and records are released in stages, under non-disclosure, to counterparties who have been qualified first.
Source protection
Where a party introduces an opportunity in good faith, non-circumvention terms are used so the introduction is respected.
Financial capability
Proof of funds or financing evidence is requested at the appropriate stage — before inspection commitments, not at first contact.
Independent specialists
Escrow, title, legal, tax and technical work sits with independent professionals appointed for the transaction. We coordinate them; we do not replace them.
Transaction FAQ
Buying & Selling — Questions Answered
Does SkyBridge Jets own the aircraft it offers?
No. We hold no inventory and take no title. We act as an adviser and intermediary for buyers and sellers, and every transaction is contracted directly between the parties under separately negotiated purchase and sale agreements.
How are your fees structured?
Fees are agreed in writing for each mandate or transaction before work begins, and vary with the aircraft, the scope and whether we are acting on the buy or sell side. We do not publish rates, because doing so would misrepresent transactions we have not seen. What we will always do is set out the fee basis in the engagement letter, so there are no surprises at closing.
What does 'off-market' actually mean?
It means the aircraft is not publicly advertised — not that it is unverifiable. Before any sensitive introduction, we want to see who owns the aircraft, who has authority to offer it, and confirmation of its identity and specification. Chains of intermediaries passing on unattributed specifications are not off-market opportunities; they are noise, and we treat them as such.
Who carries out the pre-purchase inspection?
An independent maintenance facility appropriate to the type, agreed between buyer and seller. We coordinate facility selection, scope, timing and attendance, and support the discrepancy negotiation, but the inspection findings come from the facility and your technical representative, not from us.
How are escrow and title handled?
Through independent escrow, title and legal specialists appointed for the transaction. Funds sit with the escrow agent, title and lien searches are run before closing, and the bill of sale and registration steps are handled by those specialists under your instructions. We coordinate the timetable; we do not hold client funds.
Can you support financing or investor-backed purchases?
We can introduce financiers, lessors and investors active in the sector, and we can structure a discussion between a credible aircraft opportunity, a qualified buyer or investor and a prospective lessee. Any such transaction remains subject to independent commercial, legal, technical, regulatory and credit due diligence. We do not provide finance, do not guarantee funding and make no representation about returns.
Can I sell without advertising the aircraft publicly?
Yes, and it is common. We prepare sanitised materials, approach a qualified list under non-disclosure, and release identifiers and records in stages as buyers qualify. Discretion has a cost in reach, and we will be honest with you about that trade-off for your type and market.
How long does a transaction take?
It depends on the type, the quality of the records, the inspection scope, the registry involved and how prepared both parties are. Rather than promise a timeline we cannot control, we set out the critical path at engagement — search, LOI, inspection, closing — and tell you which step is currently governing the date.
What do you need from a seller to begin?
Written authority to market, confirmation of ownership, the aircraft specification, current maintenance status and programme enrolment, damage history, records position and your price expectation. Serial numbers and detailed records should be exchanged once confidentiality is in place, not in a first email.
Aircraft sales and acquisition enquiry form
Sales & Acquisition Enquiry
Start a Confidential Discussion
Buying, selling, appointing an acquisition mandate or exploring a purchase-to-lease structure. Tell us the shape of the requirement — please hold back serial numbers and confidential records until confidentiality is in place.
Related SkyBridge services
SkyBridge Jets acts as an independent aircraft sales and acquisition adviser. We do not hold inventory, do not take title to aircraft and are not principals in the transaction. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, financial or airworthiness advice, and no representation is made as to availability, value, financing or investment return. All transactions are governed by separately negotiated agreements between buyer and seller.
Buying or Selling an Aircraft?
Start with the requirement, not a listing. We will tell you plainly what the market holds and what it does not.