The business jet market saw 2.4 percent of the worldwide fleet change hands via resale retail transactions in the second quarter, according to a quarterly pre-owned bizjet market update released this week by Amstat. This is higher than the 2.0-percent figure recorded in the first quarter. While this latest activity is lower than the historic standard, Amstat executive vice president Tom Benson said, “The improvements in the second quarter are welcome news nonetheless.” The Amstat report also notes that inventory of pre-owned business jets now stands at 15.5 percent of the fleet, down only slightly from 15.7 percent in the prior quarter. However, this metric has been “improving consistently,” Benson noted, adding that although the recovery might not be happening as fast as the industry would like, “It does seem to be promisingly steady.” However, “At the current rate of improvement, it will be at least another year and probably more like two before transaction activity and pre-owned aircraft for sale inventory return to historically normal levels,” he concluded.