Valuation Takes Flight performs business valuations for privately held aviation companies, including opinions of value for employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and their annual updates. We also value shares for stock buy-ins, buy-sell agreements, and internal ownership transfers among partners and family members.
What we value
We work across the private aviation economy: MRO and repair stations, fixed-base operators, charter and management companies, parts and avionics businesses, and flight schools. Each engagement is built around the value drivers specific to aviation operators, from airport leasehold terms to fleet residuals to FAA certificate standing and the shortage of certificated mechanics.
Purposes we support
- ESOP formation and annual valuation updates.
- Buy-sell agreements, stock buy-ins, and partner or family ownership transfers.
- Gift and estate planning, and shareholder or partnership disputes.
Common questions
My company is a flight school, avionics shop, or parts dealer, not a jet MRO. Is your index and experience relevant?
Yes. The Private Aviation Business Value Index reports by segment, including MRO, FBO and charter, parts and avionics, and flight training, and it tracks the drivers that move value across the whole private aviation economy: mechanic scarcity, fleet age, leasehold terms, and FAA certificate standing. Your valuation is built from your own financials, with the Index as a market anchor rather than a formula. Where your niche differs, the framework adapts, because it is built on the underlying value drivers, not on one business model.
Why an academic rather than my accountant or a generalist business appraiser?
Generalist multiples miss the structural features that decide aviation value: leasehold reversion, FAA certificate standing, fleet residuals, and the labor shortage. Our founder researches these at Embry-Riddle and built the only public benchmark for aviation business value, so the opinion reflects how aviation buyers actually price these companies.
Your index is built from public data. Is that credible for my valuation?
Public data is a strength. It makes the market anchor transparent and defensible, which matters when an ESOP valuation is audited or a number is challenged in a dispute. The opinion itself is built from your company's specific financials and circumstances.
Do you provide independent ESOP opinions and annual updates?
Yes. We provide independent opinions of value for trustees, third-party administrators, and sponsors, including the annual updates an ESOP requires.
Discuss your engagement
Retained analysis for lenders, owners, investors, and litigation counsel across aeronautical valuation.
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