Podcast: The Truth About the Market Host: Jason Zilberbrand, President of VREF The first shock is always obvious. Fuel moves. Rates stay high. Headlines hit. Everyone reacts. But markets don’t actually change in the moment of impact. They change in how people respond to it. In this episode of The Truth About the Market, Jason breaks down what’s happening now — the second wave of market stress. Not panic. Not collapse. But something far more dangerous: a slow erosion of [...]

Podcast: The Truth About the Market Host: Jason Zilberbrand, President of VREF In aviation, one of the most trusted numbers is often the least reliable. It shows up in listings, broker conversations, tax disputes, financing discussions, and seller expectations. It gets forwarded, quoted, screenshotted, and repeated until it starts to feel like fact. But it isn’t. In this episode of The Truth About the Market, Jason breaks down one of the most persistent misconceptions in aircraft [...]

Podcast: The Truth About the Market Host: Jason Zilberbrand, President of VREF “Low total time” sounds like a selling point. In aviation, it often is. It shows up in listings, broker calls, and buyer wish lists as if those three words settle the question of quality before the airplane is even inspected. But strip away the assumption, and what’s left is a far less comforting truth: airplanes are not preserved by sitting still. They are preserved [...]

Podcast: The Truth About the Market Host: Jason Zilberbrand, President of VREF Most people in aviation believe they understand the market. They look at comps They reference recent sales They trust the numbers But what if those numbers aren’t as real as they seem? In this episode of The Truth About the Market, Jason pulls back the curtain on one of the most widely accepted—and least questioned—foundations of aircraft valuation: comparable sales data. Because in aviation, [...]

Podcast: The Truth About the Market Host: Jason Zilberbrand, President of VREF The aviation market doesn’t collapse the way people expect. And right now, it’s being tested by something very real. The escalating war involving Iran has already pushed oil back above $100 a barrel, disrupted key energy infrastructure across the Gulf, and put roughly 20% of global oil supply at risk through the Strait of Hormuz . Airlines are rerouting flights, fuel prices are surging, [...]

Podcast: The Truth About the Market Host: Jason Zilberbrand, President of VREF In aviation, few moments create more tension than the pre-buy inspection. Deals slow down. Emotions rise. And what should be a structured financial process suddenly turns into a test of trust. Buyers worry they’ll miss something. Sellers worry the deal will fall apart. Brokers try to keep everything moving. And in the middle of it all, one of the most important steps in the [...]

Podcast: The Truth About the Aviation Market Host: Jason Zilberbrand, President of VREF For years, people talked about the “aircraft market” as if it were a single thing. Values rose together Values fell together And broad headlines were enough to describe what was happening. That era is over. In the first quarter of 2026, aircraft values are no longer moving in one cycle. The market has fragmented. Some aircraft remain highly liquid with stable or rising [...]

Podcast: The Truth About the Market Host: Jason Zilberbrand, President of VREF Aviation doesn’t collapse because airplanes stop flying. It tightens when capital stops trusting itself. The last time that happened, the trigger wasn’t an AD, a fuel mandate, or an OEM delay. It was confidence. In this episode of The Truth About the Market, Jason pulls the lens back from aircraft models and rate cycles to examine the force that actually moves values: institutional trust.  [...]

Podcast: The Truth About the Market Host: Jason Zilberbrand, President of VREF Most aircraft don’t die in a dramatic way. There’s no crash. No grounding order. No public failure. Just a quiet shift in the math. A moment when the market stops valuing the aircraft as a flying machine… and starts valuing it as inventory. In this episode of The Truth About the Market, Jason Zilberbrand breaks down one of the least discussed — yet most [...]

Podcast: The Truth About the Market Host: Jason Zilberbrand, President of VREF Most aircraft losses don’t make headlines. There’s no accident report. No dramatic engine failure. No obvious red flag at closing. Just a slow, silent erosion of value… that doesn’t reveal itself until the exit fails. In this episode of The Truth About the Market, Jason Zilberbrand breaks down the invisible structural errors he sees every week — mistakes made by smart, successful buyers who [...]