Where Can You Buy an Executive Aircraft? A Buyer's Guide to the Pre-Owned Market and Importing into Brazil

Short answer: you buy an executive aircraft through the global pre-owned market — a mix of publicly listed aircraft and off-market opportunities — usually with a boutique aircraft advisory firm representing you as the buyer. There is no single marketplace where the best aircraft simply sit waiting; the strongest options are often never advertised, and most transactions cross borders.

For a Brazilian buyer, that frequently means acquiring an aircraft based abroad — commonly in the United States, the largest pre-owned pool — and importing it into Brazil. This guide walks through where to look, how the buying process works, and what it takes to bring a jet into the country.

Where can I buy an executive aircraft?

There are two distinct routes, and they are two very different transactions.

The first is new, direct from the manufacturer (Embraer, Bombardier, Gulfstream, Dassault, Cessna/Textron, and others). You negotiate with the manufacturer, join a delivery position, configure the aircraft, and wait — lead times can take up to two years, and specification decisions are made years before the aircraft flies.

The second is the pre-owned market, where most buyers actually transact. Here, aircraft are sold through brokers and advisory firms, listing platforms, and — critically — off-market, owner-to-owner channels that never appear publicly.

What does the buying process look like?

Jet Match works with aircraft acquisition and sales mandates. On acquisitions, the company represents only the buyer — with one team accountable from the first brief to the operational handover.

In practice, that spans understanding the mission, sourcing across listed aircraft, off-market opportunities, and our global broker network, validating price with our proprietary Jet Match Market Intelligence valuation model, structuring the letter of intent and the negotiation, coordinating a pre-purchase inspection at an approved MRO, and managing closing, registration, and cross-border logistics. Because our compensation on acquisition deals comes from the buyer alone, the advice carries no conflict of interest.

The value of a buyer's advisor is in the access to the right aircraft, the discipline of an independent valuation, and a single point of accountability that carries the transaction cleanly from the first brief to the handover.

Can I buy a jet abroad and import it into Brazil?

Yes — and for Brazilian buyers of large and ultra-long-range aircraft, this is the norm rather than the exception. The deepest inventory of pre-owned business jets sits outside Brazil, and the United States is the single largest market. Buying a US-registered (N-registered) aircraft and importing it is a well-established path; what makes it work smoothly is managing the technical, legal, and customs workstreams in the right order and in parallel.

Who can help me import a business jet from the US to Brazil?

Importing an aircraft into Brazil means moving it off its foreign registry and onto the Brazilian one. At a high level: the aircraft clears Brazilian customs; its records and airworthiness are brought into conformity with ANAC's requirements; it is deregistered in the country of origin (for a US aircraft, from the FAA), with the corresponding export documents; and it is registered in the Registro Aeronáutico Brasileiro (RAB), receiving its Brazilian mark and certificate of airworthiness.

Each of these steps is well established, and together they follow a clear sequence. The advantage of a buyer's advisor is coordination: acting as a single point of contact across the technical, legal, and customs work, keeping the steps in the right order so the aircraft transitions smoothly from a foreign registry to a Brazilian one.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I buy an executive aircraft?

Through the global pre-owned market — listed and off-market — typically with a boutique aircraft advisory firm representing you as the buyer, or new directly from a manufacturer. The strongest pre-owned options are often sourced off-market, through the private networks of firms that represent buyers and sellers.

Should I buy a new or a pre-owned jet?

They are two different transactions. New means configuring the aircraft and joining a manufacturer's delivery position, with longer lead times. Pre-owned means an aircraft that is available sooner but requires disciplined technical and records diligence — and, ideally, an independent valuation before you make an offer.

Do I need a broker or an advisor to buy a jet?

You do not legally need one, but you gain access and protection with one. An advisor representing the buyer sees off-market aircraft, values each option independently, oversees the pre-purchase inspection, and coordinates the closing and — where relevant — the import.

Can a Brazilian buyer purchase a US-registered jet and import it?

Yes. It is a common and well-established path, because the largest pre-owned inventory is in the United States. The transaction and the import are managed as one coordinated process.

Who can help me import a business jet from the US to Brazil?

A boutique aircraft advisory firm that can act as a single point of contact across the technical (records and airworthiness conformity), legal, and customs workstreams — coordinating customs clearance, records and airworthiness conformity, deregistration from the FAA (with export documents), and registration in the RAB with ANAC.

Jet Match is a boutique aircraft advisory firm specializing in the purchase, sale, and management of business aircraft, representing buyers and sellers on exclusive mandates in Brazil and globally. If you are considering an acquisition — domestic or cross-border into Brazil — we can help you source the right aircraft, value it correctly, and manage the import end to end.