Residual Value

Residual value is the projected market value of an aircraft at a future date — key to ownership economics, financing and lease structures. Aircraft depreciate on a curve that flattens toward a residual floor as the type matures; hours, condition, program status and market conditions all move the number.

Why it matters: residual value is what the ownership period actually cost, revealed at the end. Two owners can run identical aircraft for identical hours and have materially different total costs purely on what the aircraft sold for — depreciation, not fuel, is often the largest single line in ownership economics.

Residual value responds to choices: a mainstream, well-supported type; complete records; enrolment on recognised maintenance programmes; damage-free history; and equipment kept current with mandates. None of it is glamorous, and together it explains most of the spread between good and poor resale outcomes.