Aircraft appraisals explained by Biggi
Aircraft appraisals are often misunderstood as price opinions. In practice, an aircraft appraisal is a structured technical and market assessment that evaluates value based on condition, configuration, documentation, and real market demand at a specific point in time.
Aircraft appraisals are often misunderstood as theoretical exercises based on book values, fleet averages, or generic market reports. In practice, a meaningful aircraft appraisal must reflect how an aircraft can actually be transacted, operated, maintained, or dismantled in the real aviation market. At NEDAVION, aircraft appraisals are approached as asset evaluations, not academic valuations.
An aircraft appraisal begins with understanding the aircraft’s role in the market today, not what it once represented on paper. This includes the aircraft type, age, utilisation profile, maintenance status, configuration, documentation quality, and the commercial reality of who would realistically buy, operate, or dismantle the asset. For platforms such as the A320, B737, and MD-80, appraisal outcomes can vary significantly depending on whether the aircraft is intended for continued operation, part-out, or full teardown.
A critical component of any aircraft appraisal is the maintenance and technical condition. Scheduled checks, structural status, corrosion exposure, and modification embodiment all materially influence value. An aircraft approaching a major check may have a substantially different appraisal outcome compared to one with recent heavy maintenance, even if both share the same build year or utilisation. For legacy aircraft in particular, appraisal accuracy depends on understanding which maintenance events add real value and which simply defer inevitable costs.
