Ionic Insights: The Installed Business Jet Fleet in South Africa (March 2022)

Welcome to the second edition of Ionic Insights, our new and regular focus on the global business aviation sector. 

Each Insight serves to provide financiers, investors, brokers and other interested parties an easily digestible snapshot of the installed business jet fleet within a specific country or region. 

In this edition we focus on South Africa. We analyse the size, makeup and average age of the installed fleet, aircraft registries and base locations. 

Whilst the size of the fleet is dwarfed by the number of helicopters and turboprops in operation – jets represent only one third the number of helicopters and approximately one half the number of turboprops – South Africa boasts more jets than any other market in Africa. 

The market is biased towards the lighter, smaller end of the market; with the vast majority of such aircraft being self-managed. The national registry (ZS-) is almost entirely dominant. Whilst the mean age of the fleet is comparatively old at over twenty-six years, it is notable that less than 2% of that fleet is listed for sale – almost half the current global average.

I hope you find this Insight useful. Look out for future editions!

A summary of the installed business jet fleet in South Africa, March 2022.