Story ID: 132GAMAnumbersAINDec14EditedByAY_NM
GAMA: Business Aircraft Deliveries on the Rise
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Business jet makers are set to notch their second consecutive year of delivery increases.
Word Count: 785
Business aviation deliveries are showing a healthy increase over the previous year, according to third-quarter numbers released by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Released shortly after the NBAA Convention, the totals were certainly a treat for those looking for signs of industry resurgence. “The optimism about the general aviation market on display at NBAA’s convention…is reflected in the continued recovery of the business jet and piston-engine segments this quarter,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce. “New products are helping to fuel our industry’s continued growth as we continue to emerge from the recession.” For the first nine months of this year, overall industry shipments and billings came in at 1,678 aircraft and $16 billion, up from 1,587 aircraft and $15.4 billion between January and September last year.

Through the first nine months of this year, OEMs handed over 460 business jets, 9.3 percent more than the 421 delivered in the first three quarters of last year, and the industry is on track for a second straight year of more deliveries after four years of decline. In the vanguard was Cessna, which delivered 35 percent more business jets year over year, led by new or updated models such as the M2 (CJ1 replacement, with 31 deliveries), the Sovereign+ and the Citation X+. Both the Sovereign+ and X+ are breathing life into the high end of Cessna’s line, with a combined 24 of the super-midsize twinjets delivered in the first nine months, compared with just five in the same period last year. Deliveries of the Mustang (six) represented less than half the deliveries of the VLJ in the first nine months of last year.

Gulfstream saw a surge in deliveries at the smaller end of its product line, handing over eight more G150s/G280s in the first three quarters of the year than it did in the same period last year. That offset a slight decrease among its larger offerings, and overall the Savannah airframer recorded a gain of nearly 5 percent in deliveries.

Bombardier ramped up deliveries of the Global 5000 and 6000, handing over 10 more in the first nine months of this year than it did in the first three quarters of last year. The Canadian manufacturer received FAA certification for the Learjet 70/75, the upgraded versions of the 40XR/45XR, late last year, and it handed over 15 of the jets in the first three quarters of this year compared with just one of their predecessors through the first nine months of last year.

Dassault saw a 7.3-percent drop in deliveries, attributable mainly to the Falcon 7X. The French OEM handed over 12 fewer 7Xs during the first nine months of the year than it did in the same period in 2013. According to a Dassault Falcon spokesman, sales for the long-range trijet remain strong. “The difference between 2013 and 2014 figures is the result of simple fluctuations in our delivery schedules,” the company told AIN.

Embraer also posted a slight decline in deliveries year over year. The manufacturer handed over 14 more Phenom 300s, but deliveries of its smaller Phenom 100 stablemate amounted to less than half the number the company delivered through the first nine months of last year.

Eclipse Aerospace, which began deliveries of the reborn Eclipse 550 in March, added 10 of its VLJs to the private jet total.

In the bizliner class, Boeing handed over three private 787s this year on its way to posting a 40-percent gain in deliveries year over year. Deliveries at Airbus remained static (three in the first nine months of both this year and last), but Embraer tacked on another Lineage 1000 to its tally from the first nine months of 2013.

“Unfortunately, not every sector, as evidenced by turboprops, is showing sustained growth, and this is indicative of the industry challenges we still face,” noted Bunce. Overall, the turboprop segment slid by 3.7 percent, attributable mainly to changes in the agricultural community. Deliveries from utility aircraft manufacturers peaked last year after an upswing during the recession and their figures are now moderating, explained a GAMA spokesman. On the other hand, the pressurized high-end turboprops on this chart notched up 178 deliveries for the first nine months of the year, 7.3 percent better than the same period a year ago.

Both Daher-Socata and Pilatus added five aircraft apiece to their third-quarter 2013 numbers for gains of 17.9 percent and 15.6 percent, respectively, while at Piper Meridian deliveries remained static. Beechcraft, which came under the Textron Aviation umbrella in March, showed a 4.4-percent slip year over year, but if one subtracts the six Hawker 4000s the company disposed of early last year the Wichita manufacturer actually increased its output of King Airs by two over the previous year.