How to be a good aircraft broker

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Freestream Aircraft’s Alireza Ittihadieh (right) networking at the Corporate Jet & Helicopter Finance Asia 2012 conference in Hong Kong.

Rex McGreevy, sales executive at Charlie Bravo Aviation, helps business jet buyers to separate the honest aircraft brokers from the chancers.
aircraft brokers

Aircraft brokers exchanging business cards at the Corporate Jet & Helicopter Finance Asia 2012 conference in Hong Kong.

A good test for an aircraft broker is to find out what flight departments or operators know them, who they talk to and where they build relationships.

The questions to ask are:

  • Who has used this broker to buy an aircraft?
  • Do they provide real-time market updates for their buyers and sellers?
  • Do they have in-house staff to help with the transaction process or are they a ‘one-man’ show?

Sometimes a bad broker is posing as a broker trying to get in the middle of a deal. A good way to test a broker is to ask for market intelligence, seek out transaction history and make sure they know the markets well.


Good aircraft brokers

1) A good broker knows the market and is committed to finding you the best aircraft for your mission/business or personal objectives/needs. Knowing the market is mission critical for a client when it comes to the buying and selling of an aircraft.

2) A good broker has professional references, a strong web presence on social media websites and trade publications and a verifiable history of doing business successfully in the aviation and broker community.

3) A good broker is in the game for the long haul and doesn’t burn bridges or focus on other forms of luxury assets such as boats, houses or cars.

4) A good broker routinely wins and seeks business from the aircraft fleets in which they seek to represent on a quarterly basis at minimum.

5) A good broker should be able to give a realistic appraisal of your aircraft and provide data to back reasoning for why your aircraft should go to the market and what ownership can expect to receive for the sale of their aircraft.

6) A good broker has real, authentic, up-to-date detailed listings of aircraft for sale on public websites and other electronic and print outlets.


Bad aircraft brokers

1) A bad broker is an opportunist trying to make something happen quickly as a means to make a sale.

2) A bad broker has limited references and lack of experience with respect to his or her brand/make/model of aircraft.

3) A bad broker chases the opportunity to make a sale and doesn’t focus on any one particular market.

4) A bad broker doesn’t interact with the fleet in which they claim expertise.

5) A bad broker has a questionable website and can’t be found on LinkedIn or other public websites.

6) A bad broker will over-value your aircraft in order to get the listing as they have only their interest in mind.

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