Tennessee has built one of the more diverse business aviation markets in the Southeast — a state where FedEx’s global cargo operation, Nashville’s corporate and charter growth, and Cirrus Aircraft’s own delivery hub all sit on the same map. Based on the current in-state fleet, 639 turboprops and business jets call Tennessee home, spread across 49 airports from the Tri-Cities to Memphis.
Here’s a look at the Tennessee business aviation market by the numbers, part of a series breaking down what’s actually flying in each state.
A MATURE FLEET, STILL GROWING AT THE EDGES
Tennessee’s fleet has an average manufacture year of 2005, with a median of 2007. About 30 percent of the fleet (191 aircraft) was built in 2015 or later, while roughly 17 percent (106 aircraft) dates back before 1990 — a slightly older and slightly more actively refreshed fleet than you’ll find in some neighboring states.
Ownership is overwhelmingly direct:
- Wholly owned: 619 aircraft (97 percent)
- Shared ownership: 19 aircraft (3 percent)
- Fractional program: 1 aircraft (under 1 percent)
That’s an owner-heavy market by almost any measure, pointing to a base of corporate flight departments, cargo feeder operators, and private owners who keep their aircraft under their own control rather than in a fractional pool.
WHERE THE FLEET LIVES
Tennessee’s aircraft are based across 49 airports statewide, with the fleet concentrated around the state’s four major metro hubs:
- McGhee Tyson Airport (Knoxville): 99 aircraft
- Nashville International Airport: 90 aircraft
- Memphis International Airport: 86 aircraft
- Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport: 59 aircraft
- Smyrna Airport: 53 aircraft
- John C. Tune Airport: 34 aircraft
- Sumner County Regional Airport: 16 aircraft
- Tri-Cities Regional Airport: 15 aircraft
- Mckellar Airport: 14 aircraft
- Morristown Regional Airport: 12 aircraft
McGhee Tyson, Nashville, and Memphis together account for about 43 percent of the entire statewide fleet — a heavier concentration in the top three airports than most states see, and a reflection of how much of Tennessee’s business aviation activity anchors around Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis specifically, rather than spreading evenly across the state.
WHAT TENNESSEE FLIES
Citation is the clear backbone of the Tennessee fleet, outnumbering the next-closest manufacturer by more than two to one. By manufacturer: Citation (165 aircraft), King Air (70), Cirrus (54), Falcon (46), Challenger (34), Caravan (28), Hawker (28), Embraer (27), Learjet (27), and Pilatus and Piper (tied at 25 each).
By specific model, one aircraft stands well clear of the field:
- Cirrus Vision SF50 G2+: 39
- Caravan 208B: 25
- Challenger 300: 14
- Citation 525: 14
- King Air B200: 13
- Piper Meridian: 13
- King Air 350: 12
- Citation XLS: 12
- Cirrus Vision SF50 G2: 11
- Citation M2: 11
The Vision SF50 G2+ alone outnumbers the next model by more than 50 percent — no coincidence, since Cirrus built its “Vision Center,” the company’s global hub for Vision Jet training, delivery, and support, at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville. Every Cirrus jet buyer in the country ultimately passes through Tennessee to take delivery, and a meaningful share of them end up basing the aircraft there. Add in the Caravan 208B fleet tied to Memphis’s cargo-feeder network, and Tennessee’s model mix tells a story few other states can match: part mid-cabin corporate jet market, part single-engine personal jet hub, part cargo feeder base.
WHAT’S ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW
Of the 639 aircraft based in Tennessee, 55 are currently listed for sale, or about 9 percent of the total fleet. The for-sale list is led by the state’s most common light jet:
- Citation 525: 5 for sale
- Learjet 45XR: 3 for sale
- King Air 200: 2 for sale
- Piper Malibu Jetprop: 2 for sale
The remainder of the for-sale list is spread one-off across nearly every segment in the fleet, from a Gulfstream G-V and a Falcon 2000 down to an Eclipse EA500 — a sign that turnover is happening across the whole market rather than in one corner of it.
THE OPERATORS BEHIND THE FLEET
Tennessee’s charter and management landscape is notably fragmented compared to more concentrated markets, with no single operator controlling a large share of the fleet:
- Baron Aviation Services, Inc.: 18 aircraft
- Secure Air Charter, LLC: 13 aircraft
- FedEx Corporate Aviation: 10 aircraft
- AB Jets: 10 aircraft
- JetRight Air Management, LLC: 8 aircraft
- Corporate Flight Management, Inc.: 8 aircraft
- Mid South Jets, Inc.: 5 aircraft
Even the top two operators combined account for well under 5 percent of the statewide fleet. Memphis International Airport tells the clearest version of this story: 86 aircraft are based there, and nearly a third are flying cargo missions for Baron Aviation Services, FedEx Corporate Aviation, and AB Jets — a direct reflection of Memphis’s role as home to FedEx’s global air cargo hub.
FLEET ACTIVITY
Among the aircraft with recorded flight-hour data, the average airframe in Tennessee’s fleet has logged just under 4,850 total flight hours. Combined with a median manufacture year of 2007, that points to a fleet that’s mature and consistently flown rather than lightly used — broadly in line with what other established Southeast markets show.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Tennessee’s business aviation market doesn’t fit neatly into one category, and that’s what makes it interesting. Citation dominates the manufacturer mix the way it does in most Southeast states, but Cirrus’s Vision Center in Knoxville gives Tennessee an outsized concentration of owner-flown personal jets that few other states can claim, and Memphis’s role as a FedEx cargo hub adds a Caravan and Challenger feeder fleet that doesn’t show up the same way anywhere else. McGhee Tyson, Nashville, and Memphis anchor well over 40 percent of the entire in-state fleet between them, and active for-sale inventory touches everything from Citations to Gulfstreams. For owners and buyers trying to understand where they fit into this market, or brokers trying to figure out where the next deal is likely to come from, the fleet data tells a clear story: Tennessee is a multi-hub state with distinct pockets — corporate mid-cabin jets in Nashville and Chattanooga, personal jets in Knoxville, and cargo feeder aircraft in Memphis — and a charter and management sector still fragmented enough to leave plenty of room for growth.
Contact Holstein Aviation to talk through where your aircraft fits into the Tennessee market, whether you’re buying, selling, or reevaluating how it’s managed.
