A more unique, often surprising aspect that can affect certain aircraft’s value is what is known as “block changes”.
Throughout different aircraft models, there are times were the manufacturer made a large change to how the aircraft was built. For example, the Gulfstream G200 serial number 01 to about 75 had interiors installed by Israeli Aircraft Industries. After serial number 75, Gulfstream bought the program and realized the interiors were significantly overweight and thus detrimental to the aircrafts performance. They then started installing interiors that were vastly improved and allowed for more fuel load and passengers. So aircraft before serial number 75 will have a different value placed on their interiors then later models.
Another example is the Bombardier Challenger 300. After about serial number 160, Bombardier made changes to the interior making it quieter, upgrading the cabin management system, and other improvements. They made small changes that were expensive to retrofit but now came standard in the aircraft being manufactured.
Buyers will look at certain serial numbers when it comes time to purchase an aircraft, and often require a price discount when considering serial numbers that occurred before certain manufacture upgrades or changes were made. Block Changes are highly specific to each model and not all models had them made at all. Speak with your broker to determine if this is applicable to your aircraft or to an aircraft you are looking at purchasing.
Blogs are written from real world experience by Colibri Aircraft’s individuals. If you have any questions or comments about the topic of this blog, please feel free to contact our team at enquiries@colibriaircraft.com