Georgia’s business aviation market runs deeper than its Fortune 500 headquarters might suggest. Based on the current in-state fleet, 685 business jets and turboprops call Georgia home, and the numbers behind that fleet paint a picture of a broad, owner-flown market spread across the state.
Here’s a look at the Georgia business aviation market by the numbers. Every aircraft referenced below is a business jet or turboprop; the dataset does not include piston aircraft, helicopters, or airliners.
A Seasoned, Well-Used Fleet
The average manufacture year across all 685 in-operation aircraft is 2003, with a median of 2006, and just over a quarter of the fleet (25 percent, or 173 aircraft) was built in 2015 or later. Nearly as many aircraft, 24 percent (164 aircraft), date back before 1990.
Ownership structure is heavily weighted toward direct ownership:
- Wholly owned: 651 aircraft (95 percent)
- Shared ownership: 34 aircraft (5 percent)
That concentration suggests most owners in this asset class prefer holding title directly rather than through a fractional program.
Where the Fleet Lives
Georgia’s business aircraft are spread across 62 different base airports, and the market is centered squarely on metro Atlanta:
- DeKalb-Peachtree Airport: 120 aircraft
- Fulton County Airport: 58 aircraft
- Gwinnett County Briscoe Field: 52 aircraft
- Cobb County McCollum Field Airport: 51 aircraft
- Savannah International Airport: 49 aircraft
- Cartersville Airport: 28 aircraft
DeKalb-Peachtree alone accounts for 18 percent of the entire statewide fleet, and the next three airports after it, Fulton County, Gwinnett County Briscoe Field, and Cobb County McCollum Field, are all metro Atlanta reliever fields. Together, those four airports hold nearly 40 percent of Georgia’s fleet. Savannah is the one meaningful base outside the Atlanta metro, and Cartersville rounds out the top six.
What Georgia Flies
Citation and King Air anchor Georgia’s fleet by manufacturer. Citation leads with 137 aircraft, followed by King Air (107), Gulfstream (100), Pilatus (47), Learjet (43), Falcon (36), and Challenger (36).
By specific model, the list is a mix of turboprops, very light jets, and midsize equipment rather than one category running away with it:
- Pilatus PC-12 NG: 21
- Gulfstream G280: 18
- Citation 525: 16
- King Air B200: 15
- King Air 200: 15
- Gulfstream G550: 14
- Eclipse EA500: 12
- Gulfstream G450: 12
- Learjet 45: 12
- King Air C90B: 12
That spread, turboprops like the PC-12 and King Air family sitting right alongside Gulfstream’s large-cabin models and a very light jet like the Eclipse EA500, points to a market with real depth across categories rather than a single price point or mission profile.
What’s on the Market Right Now
Of the 685 aircraft based in Georgia, 50 are currently listed for sale, or about 7 percent of the total fleet. Ranked by which models have the most units for sale right now:
- Citation 525: 3 for sale
- Pilatus PC-12 NG: 3 for sale
- Citation CJ3: 3 for sale
- Falcon 900: 2 for sale
- Falcon 50: 2 for sale
- Challenger 601-3A: 2 for sale
- King Air B200: 2 for sale
- Learjet 31A: 2 for sale
No single model dominates the for-sale list, and the spread runs from entry-level turboprops through legacy large-cabin jets like the Falcon 900, which tracks with a fleet this broad-based to begin with.
The Operators Behind the Fleet
A handful of charter and management operators account for a meaningful share of the aircraft actually flying in Georgia:
- Phoenix Air Group, Inc.: 25 aircraft
- Flightworks, Inc.: 6 aircraft
- Epps Air Service, LLC: 5 aircraft
- IFLYAJET, Inc: 5 aircraft
- Atlanta Air Charter, Inc.: 4 aircraft
Phoenix Air Group stands well clear of the rest, operating roughly five times as many aircraft as the next name on the list, a clear concentration at the top of Georgia’s operator landscape.
Fleet Activity
The average airframe in Georgia’s fleet has logged just over 5,170 total flight hours. Combined with the older average manufacture year, that points to a fleet that’s being flown hard and long rather than simply aging in place, which is a good sign for owners weighing resale value against continued utilization.
The Bottom Line
Georgia’s business aviation market is broad-based, spread across turboprops, very light jets, and midsize equipment rather than concentrated in one category or price point. Metro Atlanta’s reliever airports, DeKalb-Peachtree, Fulton County, Gwinnett County Briscoe Field, and Cobb County McCollum Field, hold the bulk of the fleet, direct ownership dominates, and Phoenix Air Group has built a real footprint as the state’s leading operator. For owners and buyers trying to understand where they fit into this market, the data points to a state built on breadth and utilization across the board.
Contact Holstein Aviation to talk through where your aircraft fits into the Georgia market, whether you’re buying, selling, or reevaluating how it’s managed.
