Halfway Through 2021: Time Flies

Feels like yesterday that we were wishing everyone a happy New Year — a time that was still very uneasy given the lingering effects of COVID, but also held great optimism for the year to come. Now, six months in, we seem to be back to pre-COVID levels in nearly all aspects. This means fairs, festivals, air shows, fireworks, and all sorts of other events that were canceled in 2020 are back on the calendar for 2021. This also includes a major uptick in passenger airline and charter travel, both of which have seen massive spikes in the previous few months.

For our part, we’ve seen tremendous spikes in certificate activity and new purchase activity. Both are great signs that not only are existing operators getting back to work (in a big way), but also that new buyers and new companies are entering the market.

If you ask operators and mechanics, they’ll tell you the same thing from a different perspective. For them, parts and aircraft supply are in such high demand that it’s taking longer to fulfill repair/maintenance work and harder to find ships at a decent price. These are all good things in the grand scheme of things, but they also cause short-term headaches.

All in all, the mid-year report for 2021 is night-and-day compared to the mid-year report in 2020, much like 2020 was compared to 2019. It shows how much can really change in only one year (or less). We hope the second half stays as strong or stronger than the first half and that all of you close out your year on a high note!