Your Fuel Bill Just Went Up 32%. Is Your Aircraft Still the Right One?
Jet-A is averaging $8.57 per gallon nationally this month, up from $6.48 a year ago. For owners of professionally operated aircraft, that shift is not abstract. It shows up in your monthly operating statements, and it changes the calculus on what you should be flying.
What the Number Actually Means to an Owner
Your flight department handles the fuel. Your pilots make the fuel stops. But you are the one who owns the asset and carries the operating cost. At $8.57 per gallon nationally, and well above $10 at many major FBOs, the fuel component of your annual operating budget has shifted materially in a short window of time.
This increase is driven by geopolitical pressure in the Middle East, constrained refinery capacity, and travel demand that has not softened. The Aviation Research Group’s national FBO survey confirmed the May figure, up $2.09 from this time last year. There is no reliable near-term indication that prices return to where they were. The more useful question is whether the aircraft you are currently operating still makes sense at these fuel costs, for the missions you actually fly.
That is not a rhetorical question. For some owners, the answer is yes and the right move is cost management. For others, the fuel environment has quietly tipped the operating economics toward either a more efficient platform or a smaller one that better fits the actual mission. Both of those conversations are worth having now, while the market still supports strong values across most segments we cover.
Well-maintained, program-enrolled aircraft with strong pedigree are continuing to move efficiently. Average and below-average inventory is sitting longer, and the gap between those two groups is widening.
Where the Market Stands Right Now
Pre-owned business jet transactions in Q1 2026 came in 9.1% above the ten-year average, even with volume pulling back from an unusually strong Q1 2025. Supply remains constrained across most of the segments we cover. Values are largely holding. This is what a normalized, healthy market looks like after an outlier period, and it means owners considering a move are still doing so from a position of strength.
The fuel environment is beginning to influence buyer behavior in ways that are visible in our data. Buyers running operating economics at $8.57 per gallon are more scrutinizing of maintenance exposure, engine program enrollment, and platform efficiency than they were at $6.48. Aircraft that present higher post-purchase operating cost are drawing longer diligence cycles and pricing pressure. That dynamic benefits owners who act before it becomes more pronounced.
THE DOM GAP IS THE SIGNAL
Across nearly every segment we track, aircraft that sold moved significantly faster than what is currently sitting on the market. The XLS+ is the clearest example: current listings are averaging 251 days while sold aircraft averaged 104 days. That gap is not a market problem. It is a pricing and positioning problem. Well-priced, well-presented aircraft are finding buyers. The rest are accumulating days on market in an environment that has become far more analytical about operating economics, and fuel costs are part of that math now in a way they were not twelve months ago.
Two Conversions Worth Having
Depending on what you are flying and how you are using it, the current fuel environment points in one of two directions. Neither requires urgency, but both benefit from acting while market conditions remain favorable.
If you are in an aging or legacy platform
The Case for Moving Into a More Efficient Aircraft
An upgrade does not have to mean a category jump. An early-model Citation Excel owner moving into a late-model XLS+ or XLS Gen2 gets a meaningfully more efficient aircraft, a stronger avionics suite, and a platform buyers will want when it is time to sell, without leaving the cabin class they know. For owners whose mission calls for more range or cabin, the Latitude remains supply-constrained with firm values and real acquisition competition. Whichever direction makes sense for your operation, the fuel cost argument for moving out of older iron is stronger today than it has been in years.
If your aircraft is larger than your mission requires
The Case for Right-Sizing to Your Actual Mission
If your typical trip is a two-person flight under two hours and you are operating a large-cabin aircraft, the fuel cost per mission has become disproportionate. The Phenom 300 and 300E segments remain seller-favorable with constrained inventory and strong demand. Selling into a tight market and stepping into a platform that fits the mission rather than the aspiration is worth running the numbers on. The operating savings at current fuel prices can be substantial.
If You Are Staying Put, Reduce What You Can Control
Not every ownership situation calls for a transaction. If the aircraft you have is the right one for your mission, the focus shifts to managing what is controllable on the cost side. A few things worth reviewing with your flight department:
•      Fuel card programs. The spread between retail Jet-A and contract or card-based pricing can run $1 to $3 per gallon at the same FBO. If your pilots are purchasing retail without a discount program in place, that is an immediate fix. Programs like AVCARD and Colt International, along with network-based contract arrangements, are accessible to individual aircraft owners and pay for themselves quickly at current prices.
•      Fuel stop routing. Tools like FltPlan and AirNav provide real-time pricing across thousands of FBOs. On longer legs, a planned fuel stop at a lower-cost location is a legitimate planning tool, not a compromise. At $8.57 per gallon, the savings on a single transcontinental trip can run several hundred dollars.
•      Maintenance positioning. If a scheduled maintenance event is coming, completing it now rather than deferring keeps your aircraft in the category of inventory that buyers and the market reward. Aircraft with deferred maintenance are drawing significantly longer days on market and pricing pressure in the current environment, regardless of segment.
Where This Leaves Owner
The market across the segments we cover is fundamentally healthy. Q1 2026 transaction volume finished above the ten-year average. Supply is constrained in the segments that matter most. Values are holding. Owners considering a move are doing so in a market that still supports strong outcomes on the sell side.
What has changed is the operating cost environment, and with it, the way buyers evaluate aircraft. The owners who will feel this fuel shift most are those running older, less efficient platforms at retail fuel prices with no cost management in place. The ones who will feel it least, or turn it into an opportunity, are those who use this moment to make a deliberate decision rather than a reactive one.
Whether that means upgrading, right-sizing, or optimizing what you have, the time to run those numbers is now, when the market still gives you options.
YOUR ADVISOR
Jon Gilbert, C.M.
Senior Sales Director · The Jet Agent
I have spent over 20 years in business aviation, including time as President and Director of Sales at one of the country’s top five aircraft management and charter companies, where I oversaw a fleet of professionally operated aircraft not unlike yours. Before that, I led aviation divisions at two engineering firms. I hold a commercial pilot certificate with more than 2,000 flight hours, including time in the Citation fleet, which means I understand these aircraft from the flight deck as well as the balance sheet.
My focus at The Jet Agent is Citations and Phenoms, the segments covered in this report. When you call me, you are not getting a generalist. You are getting someone who has lived in these markets, knows what these aircraft cost to operate, and can tell you plainly whether a move makes sense for your situation right now.
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