Page 6 - March19

Model 90
When it comes to the King Air 90, it is fairly segmented
with older aircraft languishing on the market and newer
or well-equipped aircraft selling very quickly. The sweet
spot is currently the C90B with Blackhawk engines and
an upgraded panel. If priced right, those aircraft sell as
soon as they hit the market and, in many cases, before
they hit the market.
Model 200
The King Air 200 market has a widening gap between
straight 200s and B200s as the ‘70s vintage aircraft
continue to be perceived by most buyers as old. Well-
equipped 200s and those that are priced below market are
selling, but anything that has known negatives tends to
sit longer. The B200 market is strong and can be viewed
through definite levels: The early B200s that are nice
and priced in the very low $1Ms sell very quickly. The
post 1985 (hydraulic gear) airplanes are selling well. The
late ‘90s airplanes, which is typically 1997-1999, are in
high demand and tend to fall in the price point with the
most active buyers at around $1.5M, again assuming they
are nice and priced correctly. The market for post-2000
B200s is very active as well, with pristine aircraft selling
very quickly. The post-2004 B200 (Pro Line 21) and the
B200GT markets are very tight and sales/demand seem
somewhat volatile. The realities of upgrading the Collins
avionics seem to put downward pressure on this market.
The cost of the Collins Modernization Package averages
around $200,000 and that is enough to give any King
Air buyer pause.
The King Air 200 / B200 / B200GT / 250 market is
clearly defined between appealing aircraft with engine
time remaining and airplanes that need engines, avionics
or cosmetics. The nice airplanes sell very quickly and
4 •
­ KING AIR MAGAZINE the weaker ones hang around on the market, litter up
the advertising sites and create the impression that
aircraft aren’t selling. I tell all of our clients to ignore
most of what is on Controller because those airplanes
are either already sold or not likely to sell. Many of these
aircraft have been advertised for more than a year! An
interesting footnote specific to the King Air B200 market
is that we continue to see a wide variance in actual sales
prices, with some aircraft selling above market and some
selling well below. I believe this is attributed to the sheer
number of aircraft and confusion about values.
Model 300 and 350
The King Air 300 market has changed drastically in the
last 18 months; in 2017 there were many great King Air
300s to choose from, today there are very few available.
The King Air 350 / 350i market has changed as well.
In 2017, two entities – the Turkish Government and U.S.
Government Contractor Leidos – each purchased seven
aircraft in a short period of time, most of them 2003
and newer. The reality of 14 airplanes being pulled out
of the market combined with an increase in demand
for run-out airplanes to be converted with Blackhawk
-67A engines, caused the King Air 350 market in 2018
to get tighter than I have ever seen it! It’s a little better
now, but a nice low time, post serial number 500 (Keith
Freon) King Air 350 is very hard to come by. At the time
of this writing, there were only six U.S.-based King Air
350i models for sale. That market remains very tight
with the oldest listing being just 120 days.
In Summary
The most interesting component of the King Air
market may be the sales prices. While some markets
have firmed up, we simply have not seen a huge increase
in actual sales prices. One can argue that maintaining
the same value is actually a price increase because
The C90B with upgraded panel and engines sell very quickly,
sometimes not even making it to the market.
MARCH 2019