BUSINESS-AIRCRAFT manufacturers have reported broadly increased deliveries for 1996, boosted by first shipments of several key new-aircraft types.
Cessna led the field, with deliveries of 122 Citation business jets, plus 107 Caravan utility turboprops. Second-placed Raytheon delivered 164 corporate aircraft - 58 business jets and 106 turboprops - during the year.
Bombardier led the large business-jet manufacturers with deliveries of 30 Canadair Challenger 604s and five corporate versions of the Canadair Regional Jet (by the end of the Canadian company's financial year on 31 January).
Dassault delivered 33 aircraft - one Falcon 50, 21 Falcon 2000s, eight Falcon 900Bs and the first three improved Falcon 900EXs. Gulfstream shipped 24 GIVs and its first three long-range GVs.
Cessna led in the light- to medium-sized business-jet arena, shipping 44 CitationJets and 52 Citation Ultra light jets, as well as 19 mid-sized Citation VIIs and the first seven Mach 0.92 Citation Xs. Raytheon delivered 26 Hawker 800s, but only three Hawker 1000s, as well as 29 Beechjet 400A light business jets. Bombardier, meanwhile, shipped 13 light Learjet 31As and 23 mid-sized Learjet 60s in 1996, while Israel Aircraft Industries delivered nine Astras.
Deliveries of established business-jet types were broadly stable in 1996, but turboprop shipments continued their recent strong recovery. Cessna delivered a record total of 107 single-turboprop Caravans, an increase of 20 over 1995, and Raytheon saw King Air twin-turboprop shipments rise by 15, to 98, to which it added the delivery of eight Starship twin-turboprops.
Several manufacturers report sharply increased fourth-quarter deliveries. Raytheon, for example, completed 37 of its 58 business-jet deliveries in 1996 in the last three months of the year. Bombardier also says that sales activity increased in the last quarter of its financial year.
Source: Flight International
