The Scissortail Brief | August 17–23, 2026

This past week, NBAA reported business aviation salaries rose nearly 7% in some job categories. The FAA clarified its timetable for 25-hour cockpit voice recorders. A private equity firm bought an FBO at Trenton-Mercer Airport. Textron delivered its 500th Citation CJ4. Texas lawmakers held the first hearing of a new committee on general aviation. Fuel prices rose again. And a heat advisory covering North and Central Texas entered its second week.

NBAA Compensation Survey Shows Salaries Up Nearly 7%

NBAA released its 2026 Compensation Survey on August 18. Compensation rose by nearly 7% in some job categories covering people who manage, fly, maintain and schedule business aircraft. The survey is administered and audited by BDO USA and includes data from 352 NBAA member organizations and 4,090 employees. This is the 40th consecutive year NBAA has conducted the survey.

NBAA senior vice president Jo Damato said the results show the industry keeps growing, which helps it attract and retain talent. Business aviation serves some of the wealthiest clients in the world, and rising pay for pilots, technicians and schedulers reflects growing demand for those services.

Flight departments and Part 135 operators updating budget projections should use the new figures. NBAA said older compensation assumptions have fallen behind current market rates in several job categories.

FAA Clarifies 25-Hour CVR Timetable

The FAA issued InFO 26013 on August 21, clarifying how the new 25-hour cockpit voice recorder requirement applies to business aircraft. Newly manufactured Part 91, 125 and 135 aircraft at 59,525 pounds MTOW or greater, type-certificated with 29 or fewer passenger seats, must comply starting February 2, 2027. Aircraft below that weight threshold have until February 2, 2029.

The FAA said this rule carries no retrofit requirement: it applies only to new manufacturing going forward. Existing aircraft aren't permanently off the hook, though, since the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act includes a six-year retrofit provision and a broader fleet-wide mandate remains in rulemaking.

Private Equity Firm Buys Trenton-Mercer FBO

Igneo Infrastructure Partners acquired FlightServ's FBO at Trenton-Mercer Airport (KTTN) through its Infinity Aviation platform. The deal is Infinity's third FBO location and second acquisition this year. The property includes about 80,000 square feet of hangar space and land for further development.

Igneo said demand for general aviation hangar space continues to outpace supply, particularly in the New York region. Institutional investors have increasingly acquired FBOs and hangar facilities over the past year, citing limited airport land and strong tenant demand.

Textron Delivers 500th Citation CJ4

Textron Aviation delivered its 500th Citation CJ4, a CJ4 Gen2 model, to a customer in the Philippines. The company delivered 30 CJ4s in 2025, up from 26 in 2024.

The next-generation CJ4 Gen3 is expected to receive FAA certification later this year. Its test fleet has logged more than 880 flight-test hours. The Gen3 will include Garmin G3000 Prime avionics, Emergency Autoland and a projected maximum range of 2,165 nautical miles.

Texas Lawmakers Hold First Hearing on General Aviation

The Texas House Select Committee on General Aviation held its first public hearing August 18 in Austin. Lawmakers and industry representatives discussed airport infrastructure, workforce shortages and barriers to expanding regional air service.

House Speaker Dustin Burrows created the committee this spring along with two other select committees, on health care affordability and government oversight, ahead of the next legislative session. Its charges include examining general aviation airport funding, evaluating regional air service barriers, studying workforce shortages, and reviewing airport governance and fee structures.

Much of the invited testimony came from scheduled-service interests. Southwest Airlines told the committee it operates more than 600 daily departures in Texas and recently opened a pilot and crew base in Austin expected to create about 2,000 jobs.

Business aviation had limited representation among invited witnesses. NBAA Southwest regional representative Steve Hadley attended, as did I, representing the South Texas Business Aviation Association. We both submitted recommendations for the record.

The committee is expected to issue recommendations ahead of the 2027 legislative session.

DOT Publishes New SIFL Rates

The Department of Transportation published updated Standard Industry Fare Level rates for the second half of 2026. The rates, used to calculate the taxable value of personal use of company aircraft, are $0.3225 per mile for the first 500 miles, $0.2459 per mile for miles 501 through 1,500, and $0.2364 per mile above 1,500 miles, plus a $58.95 terminal charge.

Flight departments with executives or family members using company aircraft for personal travel should apply the updated rates in fringe-benefit calculations.

Global Jet Capital Reports Rising Backlogs, Tighter Inventory

Global Jet Capital published its Q2 2026 Market Brief on August 18. Business jet departures rose 3.4% year over year in the first half of 2026. OEM backlogs rose 20.4% year over year to $66.8 billion. Pre-owned aircraft availability fell to 6.6% in Q2, down from 6.7% in Q1 and well below the historical average of roughly 10%. Average bluebook values rose 2.9% year over year.

Reported transaction dollar volume fell 4.8% year over year in the first half. Global Jet Capital said the decline likely reflects delayed data reporting rather than an actual drop in deal activity, citing similar patterns in prior quarters.

The report follows conflicting weekly traffic data from WingX and ARGUS reported last week. WingX had reported three consecutive weeks of declining global activity through late July. ARGUS reported stronger monthly growth over the same period. Global Jet Capital's figures align more closely with the ARGUS data.

FlyExclusive Posts Positive Adjusted EBITDA for a Third Straight Quarter

FlyExclusive reported second-quarter 2026 results August 12. Revenue rose 22% year over year to $111.1 million, beating analyst estimates by 13%. Flight revenue grew 20%, fractional revenue grew 51%, and MRO revenue grew 52%. Adjusted EBITDA was positive $4.2 million, the company's third consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA after two years of losses on that measure. Operating loss narrowed to $5.8 million from $12.4 million a year earlier. Long-term notes payable fell to about $138 million, a 40% reduction over two years.

The company still posted a GAAP net loss for the quarter, reported at $(0.16) per share, missing consensus estimates of $(0.13). Total debt of roughly $237 million exceeds the company's market capitalization, and cash on hand fell to $14.3 million at quarter's end, down from $18.7 million the prior quarter.

CEO Jim Segrave said the company has spent two years removing unproductive aircraft, modernizing its fleet, and reducing costs. The company achieved its revenue growth with 6% fewer aircraft than a year ago.

FlyExclusive shares fell nearly 7% following the earnings release before recovering some ground. The stock remains down 70% year to date.

Fuel Prices Rise, Approaching April Peak

The national average price for Jet-A stood at $7.80 per gallon as of August 22 across 3,215 reporting FBOs, according to GlobalAir, up from $7.73 the prior week. The Central region remained lowest at $7.08 per gallon. Alaska remained highest at $9.27. SAF averaged $10.05 nationally, crossing the $10 mark for the first time. The national average for 100LL was $7.51, with Alaska's 100LL as high as $11.29.

Global wholesale jet fuel prices rose 8.2% week over week to $158.91 per barrel, according to IATA's Fuel Price Monitor. That is the highest weekly wholesale reading reported since the Iran-Israel conflict escalated earlier this year, approaching the levels that produced April's decade-high retail average.

Both the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait remain contested, with no resolution reported on either front.

Texas Heat Advisory Enters Second Week

The National Weather Service extended heat advisories across North, Central and East Texas through the weekend, with little relief expected into next week.

NWS Fort Worth/Dallas forecast highs of 100 degrees or higher through the week, with temperatures potentially reaching or exceeding 105 degrees Monday through Wednesday. The office cited low humidity and dry fuels as factors in elevated wildfire risk.

NWS Houston/Galveston extended its heat advisory through Sunday evening, with peak heat index readings between 106 and 112 degrees. The office said the advisory may be extended again into next week.

NWS Austin/San Antonio extended its heat advisory across the Hill Country, the I-35 corridor and the Coastal Plains through Sunday, with hot, dry conditions expected to continue through the following week.

The Climate Prediction Center's outlook for August 25-29 calls for above-normal precipitation across the northern Eastern Seaboard, with drought conditions persisting across the Plains and South-Central U.S.

That's The Brief

The Week in One Sentence: NBAA's 2026 Compensation Survey showed bizav salaries up nearly 7% in some categories, the FAA clarified its 25-hour CVR timetable with no retrofit requirement for existing aircraft, Igneo Infrastructure Partners acquired FlightServ's Trenton-Mercer FBO, Textron delivered its 500th Citation CJ4, the newly formed Texas House Select Committee on General Aviation held its first hearing, new SIFL rates took effect, Global Jet Capital's Q2 brief showed rising backlogs and tightening inventory, FlyExclusive posted its third straight quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA while still reporting a GAAP net loss, FBO Jet-A rose to $7.80 nationally, and Texas heat advisories entered their second week.