The 151 business jet deliveries by the top five OEMs in the second quarter reported by aviation data firm Cirium were six higher than estimates by analyst Jefferies Equity Research. This was thanks to more aircraft handovers—37—at Bombardier, up from an estimated 31, and Embraer Executive Jets with 26 versus an estimated 23.
According to the Cirium data, Textron Aviation matched Jefferies’ estimate at 43 jet shipments, while Gulfstream Aerospace fell short by one at 39 aircraft and Dassault Falcon lagged with six aircraft handovers versus an estimated eight. Notably, 11 of Gulfstream’s deliveries in the quarter were for its recently certified G700—three more than previously counted by aircraft broker Hagerty Jet and analyst Baird.
Jefferies said this puts first-half business jet deliveries from the five OEMs at 256 aircraft, a 20% year-over-year increase led by large-cabin jet shipments, which grew 41% due to service entry of the G700 and ramp-up of the Falcon 6X. The analyst is forecasting the five OEMs to hand over 674 business jets this year, up from 563 in 2023.
Meanwhile, Jefferies noted that business jet flight activity is “healthily ahead” of pre-Covid levels, with departures last month up 30% from June 2019, citing WingX data. The recovery has been led by Asia Pacific and North America, which are 80% and 29% above 2019 levels, respectively.