Story ID: 
GAMA Now Welcomes Non-U.S. Manufacturers
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: The General Aviation Manufacturers Association has opened its membership to include non-U.S.
Word Count: 112
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association has opened its membership to include non-U.S. manufacturers, a major shift for the association and its future influence in the worldwide business aviation community. The move was not unexpected. For the last 10 years GAMA has been getting more and more involved in international business aviation issues. Also, the mergers in the 1990s of non-U.S. manufacturers with U.S. manufacturers created an awkward situation as far as GAMA membership was concerned. And earlier this year, GAMA started to include non-U.S.-built airplanes in its quarterly delivery statistics. The first four non-U.S. companies to join GAMA are Bombardier Aerospace, Dassault Falcon Jet, Embraer and Piaggio.