Fixed-wing business and general aviation aircraft manufacturers made modest shipment gains over the first six months of 2017, with a 2.7% climb marking the sector’s first year-on-year increase since 2014.
In its latest industry review, released on 15 August, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) records total deliveries of 995 aircraft, valued at $9 billion, in the half-year ended 30 June, compared with 969 pistons, turboprops and business jets for a total of $9.4 billion a year earlier. The year-on-year decline in the value of the shipments is accounted for by a shift to smaller, less-expensive models.
Output was stronger in the second quarter, according to GAMA, with 561 units shipped, totalling $5.3 billion, compared with 231 deliveries during the first three months of 2017, with a value of $3.7 billion.
The piston sector was the top performer between January and June, recording a 5.6% increase to 468 units. This compares with 443 shipments during the first six months of 2016, GAMA data shows.
Cessna
The rise is due largely to a strong performance from Textron Aviation's family of Cessna single-engined aircraft, which climbed from 65 units in the first six months of 2016 to 98 this year. Shipments of the 172 Skyhawk SP soared during this period, from 29 to 51 units, due to a strong take-up for the six-seat all-metal type from international flight training schools.
The debut on GAMA’s 2017 shipment report of light aircraft maker Pipistrel also helped to boost the piston-powered sector’s performance during the quarter; the Slovenian company shipped eight units of its Virus piston-single over the period.
The business jet sector made modest gains during the first six months, with GAMA recording a negligible three-unit rise to 295 aircraft. Textron was the best performer, handing over 81 Cessna Citation jets, compared with 79 last year, thanks largely to continued strong demand for the Latitude, which entered service in the third quarter of 2015. GAMA records deliveries of 23 of the midsize type, compared with 16 during the first six months of 2016, making its most popular business jet in its category over the report period.
Bombardier’s Challenger 350 was a close second, with 21 units shipped between January and June. In contrast, deliveries of the Embraer Legacy 500 halved from eight in the first six months of 2016 to only four this year. Embraer blames this slide on stiff competition in the midsize sector and resultant pricing pressure. It hopes a new focus on customer service will reverse this downward trend.
Embraer
Overall, the midsize business jet sector was largely flat. GAMA recorded 76 first-half shipments – one more than last year, and the highest year-on-year tally since 2009, when 86 deliveries were reported. This is still a far cry from the record 155 midsize deliveries recorded by GAMA a year earlier, when the market was at its peak. However, the introduction later this year of the Cessna’s highly-anticipated super-midsize Longitude should help to bolster the sector’s output from 2018.
The light end of the business jet sector also made moderate gains in the first half of 2017, thanks largely to 140% jump in HondaJet deliveries from 10 to 24 units. The six-seat aircraft entered service in late 2015 after a 12-year development effort and Honda is now ramping up production at its US headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina to meet demand.
Also in the ramp-up phase is the Cirrus SF50 Vision, which entered service late last year with an order backlog of more than 600 aircraft. The single-engined personal jet appears for the first time in GAMA’s half-year figures, with two-deliveries recorded, but the Duluth, Minnesota-based airframer is hoping to end the year on about 50 shipments.
Pilatus
Overall, the light business jet sector recorded 114 shipments in the period to 30 June – a two-unit increase on the previous year, GAMA data shows. The segment will be given an added boost in the fourth quarter, with the service-entry of the eagerly anticipated superlight Pilatus PC-24, for which the airframer has already secured over 80 orders.
The top-end of the market remains flat due to the prolonged weakness across its traditional markets. GAMA records shipments of 104 large-cabin and VIP airliners in the first six months, compared with 105 for the same period in 2016.
For the second year running, Airbus delivered no green ACJs during the first six months. Boeing increased its BBJ output from one to three units year-on-year, delivering a 777-300ER, a 787-8 and a 787-9 to completion centres – all in the first quarter.
Gulfstream
Shipments of Dassault’s Falcon family nudged up by two units to 17, while Gulfstream’s G550/G650 output remained flat year-on-year at 46 aircraft. The airframer hopes to bolster its large-cabin output when its clean-sheet G500 and G600 enter service in late 2017 and 2018, respectively.
It was a lacklustre six months for the turboprop sector. Deliveries slid year-on-year by 1%, from 234 to 232 units, almost entirely as a result of poor performance from the Beechcraft King Air. Textron’s strategy to stop offering discounts on its 350i/R, 250 and C90GTx twin-engined turboprops resulted in an 18-unit slide in shipments, GAMA reports.
Output was mixed for single-engined turboprops. Top performers were Daher – which saw shipments of its high-speed TBM series climb from 18 to 23 aircraft – and Piper. The US airframer’s flagship M600 makes its debut on GAMA’s first-half listings with 15 deliveries recorded. However, since entering service in mid-2016, the six-seat model has cannibalised the market share of its smaller M500 stablemate, the report shows. The trend has continued into 2017, with Piper recording a 50% fall in shipments for the M500, to four aircraft, over the first six months.
Quest Aircraft
Deliveries of Cessna's Caravan turboprop fell by 10 units to 22, reflecting the increased competition in the utility aircraft sector from rival designs such as the Quest Kodiak. The latter 10-seater has grown its market share year on year since 2014, with GAMA recording 17 first-half deliveries – one more than last year.
Source: Flight International
