Joseph Carfagna Jr. is president, partner, and CEO of aircraft brokerage and consultancy Leading Edge Aviation Solutions. He has worked in the business aviation industry for more than 30 years and is a seasoned salesman and aviation expert.

Contributor

Joseph Carfagna Jr.

It’s no longer fresh news that the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed on July 4, but it is important to take a look at how the market has reacted to it several weeks later. I’ll report the latest, fresh market gut check news; if you want more of a legal view of the bill, I recommend this <a href="https://leas.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/NBAA-Resource-100-Percent-Bonus-Depreciation-20250728.pdf">blog</a> by David Shannon, a partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard &amp; Smith, that outlines key details you may need to determine whether you can take advantage of the new 100% depreciation rules.
The first half of this year was pretty so-so as far as interest in preowned business aircraft purchases. A lot of uncertainty about tariffs and the seesaw of the stock market seemed to dominate people’s thinking. After July 4, which coincidentally is smack dab one half of the way through the year, we can say we have seen things flip like a switch.
The second half of this year seems to hold a lot more promise than the first half. We have made a fair number of deals in the last three weeks that will yield a fruitful autumn (even though autumn isn’t fruit season, is it?).
What to do? Act soon if you are looking to purchase. No, this is not a high-pressure sales pitch—do yourself a favor if you’re looking to take advantage of the tax benefits if you qualify.
Why? Because if history repeats itself, which we think it will, the industry will get pinched in the way that causes buyers to ultimately make sacrifices and compromises. Supply of the more desirable preowned aircraft will constrict, yielding fewer choices. The professionals in the industry will get busy no matter the capacity they are in. Shops that perform pre-purchase inspections will get booked up as the weeks go by.
Waiting until October or November will place the potential 2025 tax benefit a buyer may be after into jeopardy. Of course, the argument can be made that waiting until near year-end and using an aircraft for only business use a few times before year-end is more convenient. However, for the few short months that this applies, it will cost buyers in ways they likely did not anticipate. It takes a professional in this industry to know what sacrifices are made in the form of less due diligence and fewer choices with bullish sellers in only a few short months.
Look at it this way: Imagine waiting to have a knee replacement until many other people also need one at the same time and in the same place before the end of the year. There will be a pinch in the supply chain of the titanium parts that replace knees. The doctors will be overworked and make mistakes.
Hospitals will get crowded, and the nursing staff will get cranky and go on strike. The overcrowded hospital will have more staph infections. And the insurance companies will be slow to approve and pay because there is a glut of claims.
Suddenly, on December 20, some desperate, pressured, and less scrupulous doctor will say, “Well, in your case, we can use a left knee part instead of a right because you need this now and there are no more rights available. You will walk in an uncontrollable circle after the surgery and perhaps for the rest of your life, but at least we will get it done before the end of the year.”
This all relates to that airplane you walk up the airstairs into and make a right, along with the rest of your business associates, and take a seat in. Do it right. If upgrading your aircraft or purchasing your first one is in your plans for 2025, each week that goes by will cost you in ways only experienced industry veterans can relate to. So the time is now.
We strive to do the most professional job we can for our clients when purchasing an aircraft. After nearly 60 years in the industry, we take a lot of pride in doing things right. But the simple fact of the matter is that the busier we get, the harder it becomes to deliver that gold standard we offer. Our dedicated team has risen to that occasion in years past when the tax tail is wagging the dog at year-end, and we will do it again.
Experience has taught us very clearly how the end of the year looks when 100% bonus depreciation entered the new and preowned aircraft market—a first for preowned—in 2017 and as it sunsetted through 2024. Now that we are back to 100% depreciation in the U.S., we suggest you plan for it. As the saying goes: Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.
You can avoid cutting corners and dealing with fewer choices and bullish sellers if you begin your upgrade or first-time purchase now. Airplanes are nothing like knees—our industry has no doctors, nurses, or staph infections—but we have the same kind of factors this analogy describes.
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by AIN Media Group.

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