Business jet deliveries worldwide remained sluggish through the first half of this year, declining by more than 4 percent from the same period last year, while overall airplane billings shrank by half a billion dollars, to $10.4 billion, according to statistics released by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). OEMs handed over 305 jets in the first half, 13 short of the pace in last year’s first six months. However, the second-quarter delivery tally of 172 jets represented a healthy gain over the 133 deliveries in the first quarter and an improvement over the 164 private jets in last year’s second quarter.
Some industry analysts are rethinking their 2015 delivery predictions in light of the new numbers. Rolland Vincent, director of JetNet’s iQ forecasting product, said the company is downgrading its prediction of approximately 740 business jet deliveries worldwide this year to 717, slightly less than 2014’s total of 722. If that proves correct, it would snap the industry’s modest three-year delivery growth streak.
“While the second quarter generally improved over the first, our industry is still being buffeted by volatile global markets and contraction within the energy sector,” noted GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce. “There are reasons to be concerned, especially with energy market weakness and China and Russia, but it’s far from clear that’s going to damage total numbers when North America still looks really good,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis for Teal Group. “That might be the great irony in the whole thing: everyone put their faith in the BRICs and globalization just at the moment North America was roaring back.”
Manufacturer Results
Among the major makers of purpose-designed business jets (that is, not bizliners) only Bombardier posted a gain in deliveries over the first half of the year, handing over 11 more aircraft in the first six months of the year than in the same period last year. Production of the new Challenger 350 continued to ramp up, as the company delivered nine more of the super-midsize jet than it did through the first six months of last year when it entered service. The Canadian airframer also nearly doubled last year’s first-half production of Learjet 70/75s, but the large-cabin Challenger 605 saw first-half deliveries fall by six aircraft from the 14 delivered in the first half last year.
In an abrupt change in its financial reporting policy, Dassault said it will no longer provide individual model delivery information on Falcon business jets, instead consolidating them all under the civil aircraft category, the totals of which it will release twice a year. For the first half, the French OEM recorded 18 deliveries, compared with 25 in the same period last year. “The beginning of the year is always slower,” said Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier. The OEM said it still expects to meet its anticipated delivery total of 65 Falcons for the year.
Embraer handed over four fewer jets in the first half of this year, for an 8-percent fall. The addition to its lineup of the Legacy 500 (five delivered in the first six months of the year) was balanced out by five fewer deliveries of the larger Legacy 600/650.
In Savannah, Gulfstream also noted a slight decline in year-to-year delivery totals, mainly among the smaller offerings, equating to a 5-percent slide.
For Textron Aviation’s jet business, the first half was a mixed bag. While the Wichita manufacturer handed over two fewer jets in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year, of the eight models in its lineup, half saw upticks.
One Aviation, which began offering the Eclipse 550 last year (as Eclipse Aerospace), posted six fewer deliveries of the VLJ than it did during the first half of 2014.
Among the heavy-iron makers, Boeing exceeded its first-half 2014 delivery totals with the addition of a private 777-300ER, while Airbus delivered two fewer ACJs over the same period. Embraer handed over one Lineage 1000 during the first half of the year, compared with two in the first six months of last year.
While turboprop deliveries overall declined by nearly 10 percent year-over-year, in one of the only positive spots the high-end pressurized segment enjoyed a gain of 5.5 percent over the same period last year. Daher continued to ramp up production of the TBM 900, delivering five more through the first half of the year than in the same span last year. Piper improved deliveries of the Meridian by two for a gain of more than 14 percent year-over-year, while Pilatus PC-12 deliveries remained static at 18.
The turbine-powered helicopter segment also saw deliveries decline over the first six months this year compared with the first half of 2014. “It’s clear energy markets are affecting the rotorcraft world too,” noted Aboulafia. “The civil helicopter numbers look more like a certain trend than the business aircraft numbers do.” That softness was reflected in the overall helicopter industry billings, which fell by nearly 17 percent year-over-year.