The Wall Street Journal’s Robert Frank reported in his Wealth Report blog last week that the market for used private jets has been flooded in the last year. Halogen Guides reported on the phenomenon earlier in September, when J.P. Morgan analysts reported a 52 percent increase in used private jet inventories in the U.S. Now Rich has found that the problem is even more acute for one of the most prestigious private jets, the Gulfstream GIV.

The number of GIVs for sale this July was more than triple the number on the market last summer. These jets aren’t exactly flying off the shelves, so to speak, either. GIVs are averaging 212 days on the market, compared to 168 days last year.

While these numbers, along with reports of decreased charter demand, are enough to have executives in the private aviation industry passing the Maalox around, it is worth noting that they don’t take into account the financial crisis that is currently gripping the markets. Not only are financial firms, historically some of the most frequent users of private aviation, likely to cut back jet use even further, but the credit crunch is going to make it much more difficult for interested jet buyers to secure financing.

Manufacturers are likely hoping that global demand will help them weather what increasingly looks to be a prolonged recession in the U.S. While there may be plenty of Middle Eastern sheiks, Russian tycoons and Asian magnates clamoring for the latest and greatest Gulfstream or Global Express at the high-end of the market, the industry as a whole cannot look to a small crowd of plutocrats to see them through these hard times.

Readers weigh in. If you were at the helm of a private aviation firm, what would you do to stabilize business? What do today’s private fliers need from the industry? Leave a comment below.