In the 2017 AIN Product Support Survey, readers of this magazine again rated Embraer tops in the combined overall average ratings of newer and older business aircraft, with the same 8.4 rating the company received last year. Gulfstream, which for many years held the top rating, saw a 0.1 improvement in its rating for large-cabin jets over last year, to 8.3 and second place.
In a move up for Bombardier, the company’s Globals climbed 0.2 to achieve an 8.1 rating, tied for third place with Dassault and up from the Globals’ fourth place last year. Last year Dassault tied for second place with Gulfstream’s large-cabin and midsize jets.
Gulfstream’s midsize jets also saw an improvement this year, up 0.1 to 8.0, although down from last year’s second place to fourth place.
Bombardier’s Challenger series netted fifth place with a 7.9 rating, down from last year’s 8.1 and third place. The company’s Learjet series ranked in seventh place with a 7.7 rating, down from last year’s 7.8, and just behind Textron Aviation’s Citations at sixth place and with a 0.1 drop to 7.8.
Textron Aviation’s Premier/Beechjet/Hawker 400 series saw an improvement this year, up 0.1 to 7.5, followed by the company’s Hawker jets, which received the same 6.9 rating as last year.
The turboprops arena this year saw a slight drop for perennial favorite and first-placer Mitsubishi and its out-of-production MU-2 series, to 9.2 from 9.3. Both Pilatus Aircraft’s PC-12s and Textron Aviation’s King Airs climbed in the rankings this year, with a strong jump for the PC-12 series to 8.2 (the same second place as last year) from 7.6, and a 0.1 climb for the King Airs.
The rotorcraft OEMs didn’t change their order this year, but three had changes in ratings, with the most significant Leonardo’s climb to 7.0 this year from 6.3 last year, the highest jump for any OEM. Leonardo remains in third place, but hot on the heels of second-place Airbus Helicopters’ 7.1 (down 0.1) and first-placer Bell Helicopter at 7.2 (down 0.3).