News · Insights · Market Intelligence

Aviation insight from the ACM trading desk.

Practical, technically grounded reading for airlines, lessors and operators. Aircraft sales playbooks, EASA/FAA documentation, AOG case work, MRO economics and cabin configuration — written by the people who run the desk.

Editorial cadence

2 articles / month

No PR fluff. Every piece is written from a real transaction or a real case file.

Featured

Aircraft Trading

How to Buy a Used Commercial Aircraft Without Inheriting Someone Else's Problem

A practical buyer's playbook for narrow- and widebody jets — from records audit and pre-purchase inspection to delivery, registration and the first heavy check.

Author

Captain M. Hofer

Read

11 min

Date

12 Jun 2026

Read article

Parts & Compliance9 min

EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3 — What Buyers, Operators and Brokers Need to Get Right

Why these two release certificates dominate the global parts market, how dual-release works in practice, and the documentation traps that ground a perfectly good rotable.

5 Jun 2026

Aircraft Trading10 min

P2F Conversion Economics: When Does a 737-800 Freighter Make Sense?

Conversion slot prices, feedstock availability, lease rates and payload economics — the operator's decision matrix for the most common passenger-to-freighter conversion in the world.

22 May 2026

Parts & Compliance8 min

AOG Support in Europe and MENA: The 24/7 Playbook That Actually Gets the Aircraft Flying

How a structured AOG desk turns a panicked phone call into a wheels-up in 18 hours — supplier network, freight choices, customs paperwork, and the human factors nobody documents.

8 May 2026

Cabin & Configuration8 min

Cabin Interior Refurbishment: Choosing Fabrics, Leather and Veneers That Last 7 Years

Materials that survive UV, abrasion, cleaning agents and flammability tests — and still look the way the brand wants them to. A working guide for fleet planners and operators.

29 Apr 2026

Aircraft Trading9 min

End-of-Lease Redelivery: The Checklist That Saves Operators Six Figures

From half-life adjustments to back-to-birth packages — the documentation, technical condition and timing decisions that determine the final settlement with the lessor.

14 Apr 2026

Maintenance & MRO10 min

Engine Shop Visits: Managing CFM56 and V2500 Cost Per Cycle

Performance restoration scopes, LLP strategy, parted-out core advantages and the operator decisions that drive a 20% gap in cost-per-cycle on the same engine family.

30 Mar 2026

Aircraft Trading12 min

Narrowbody vs Widebody: How Asset Selection Drives a Decade of P&L

A clear-eyed comparison of A320 family, A330, 737NG/MAX, 767 and 787 economics for operators planning fleet additions in the second half of the decade.

15 Mar 2026

Aircraft Trading9 min

Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist for a Narrowbody Acquisition

What our technical team verifies in seven working days on the ground — records, structures, engines, APU, landing gear, cabin, and the test flight protocol.

28 Feb 2026

Parts & Compliance8 min

Spare Parts Pooling and Rotables Management — Practical Models for Mid-Size Operators

Pool entry economics, exchange vs outright, consignment stock, AOG SLA design, and the metrics that actually predict pool value.

12 Feb 2026

Maintenance & MRO8 min

CAMO Handover Done Right: How to Move an Aircraft Between Continuing Airworthiness Organisations

Records transfer, programme alignment, AD/SB compliance bridge, and the operational steps that make a CAMO handover invisible to the operations department.

28 Jan 2026

Aircraft Trading9 min

Buying Aircraft from the Middle East Market — Notes from 15 Years of MENA Transactions

Why MENA carriers regularly produce some of the cleanest used assets on the global market — and how to position a transaction so it actually closes.

12 Jan 2026

Aircraft Finance10 min

Aircraft Leasing vs. Buying: A Capital and Risk Guide for Operators in 2026

Operating lease, finance lease, sale-leaseback or outright purchase — how the four structures compare on cash, residual risk, balance sheet and exit flexibility for narrowbody and widebody fleets.

16 Jun 2026

Market Intelligence9 min

Aircraft Appraisal and Current Market Value: How Used Aircraft Are Really Priced in 2026

Base value, current market value, distressed value — what each number actually means, who certifies them (ISTAT, ASA), and why two appraisals on the same A321 can differ by USD 4 million.

18 Jun 2026

Compliance10 min

Importing an Aircraft into EASA from the FAA Register: A Practical Compliance Guide

What it really takes to bring an N-registered 737 or A320 onto an EASA register — bridging documentation, STC compatibility, maintenance program approval and re-registration timelines.

20 Jun 2026

Cargo & P2F9 min

Narrowbody Freighter Conversion: 737-800BCF vs. A321P2F — Which Conversion Wins for Express Cargo?

Conversion cost, payload, range, available slots and aftermarket comparison for the two dominant narrowbody P2F programs powering express cargo growth into 2030.

22 Jun 2026

Business Aviation8 min

Buying a Private Jet vs. Fractional Ownership vs. Charter: Which Model Actually Makes Sense?

Whole ownership, fractional shares, jet card and ad-hoc charter compared on annual hours, total cost, residual value and operational control for HNW and corporate buyers.

25 Jun 2026

Parts & Supply Chain9 min

The Aircraft Spare Parts Supply Chain in 2026: Why Lead Times Doubled and What to Do About It

Engine LLPs, landing gear assemblies, avionics LRUs — what is genuinely constrained right now, how operators are working around it, and where serviceable rotables and PMA parts fit into a resilient sparing strategy.

27 Jun 2026