“The pre-owned business jet market isn’t tanking or upside down; it just returned to normalcy,” noted Dennis Rousseau, a 25-year business aviation veteran and president of AircraftPost, an online market valuation service for midsize and large-cabin business jet owners. “The market had a lot of emotion built into it, and the industry simply got caught up in the hype.” He told AIN that the pre-owned aircraft market returned to “normal” in the fourth quarter, although he estimates that business jet valuations are now about 12 percent below where they really should be, mostly due to the soft economy and the fire sales at some companies rushing to get aircraft off their books. Owners of older aircraft should expect a further drop in valuation before prices stabilize, Rousseau said, and those who own 35-year-old or older jets might need to face the prospect that their asset has reached scrap valuation. Premiums for new aircraft will evaporate, if they haven’t already, he added. “All owners should be looking at their aircraft as a depreciating, not appreciating, asset going forward,” Rousseau advised. “And no one should ever pay more than list price for a new aircraft.”