No Jacket at the Static, Mente Group looks to cooler Europe

Gulfstream G500 and G600 formation

We are officially launching a new campaign for NBACE 2018: No Jacket at the Static.

The pre-owned market has been hot for the last few months. But at 89 F (32 C) the actual temperature on the tarmac at Orlando Executive Airport was even hotter.

“The pre-owned market is on fire,” says Bryan Comstock co-founder of Jeteffect. “The last 30 days have been the most productive in our 18-year history.”

Although a few brokers are saying that there may be signs that demand has peaked, the next 10 weeks are going to be frantic for OEMs, brokers, lawyers and financiers as they rush to close deals before year end. One private bank has 13 aircraft financings set to close by New Year.

“We are warning customers not to get too carried away chasing deals for the end of the year. There are benefits from closing before year end but it is always worth making sure you are getting the right aircraft,” says Jonny Foster, president of OGARAJETS (it was so hot that he was not wearing his trademark bow tie).

Anyone tempted by an aircraft on the static still has time to get the deal done before the end of December. Brokers say there are still some pre-buy slots available, but things are getting tight. There may not be time to import an aircraft into the US.

MENTE Group, which is also having a record year, today announced its first international expansion. It has signed a deal with German operator and management company ProAir Aviation.

“We are really excited about this,” said Brian Proctor, president and CEO of MENTE Group. The two companies met when ProAir Aviation bought a jet through MENTE a few months ago. “We got to know each other and realised that we have a similar way of looking at clients. Our strengths are really complimentary, and we believe Europe is well-positioned for a resurgence.”  Stuttgart where ProAir Aviation is headquartered was a relatively chilly 74F today.