Business and general aviation aircraft deliveries continued their resurgence during the first nine months of 2014, thanks to rising demand for jets and piston-engined types, according to the latest statistics from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
Worldwide shipments between January and September rose by 5.7% to 1,678 aircraft valued at $16 billion, compared with 1,587 shipments valued at $15.4 billion for the same period in 2013, the US- based association reveals.
Business jets saw the strongest growth, with manufacturers handing over 460 aircraft during the first three quarters – 9.3% more than in the same period the previous year. Bombardier led the charge, recording increases at both ends of its range. This included 15 light/superlight Learjet 70/75s – which replaced the poorly performing 40/45 a year ago – and 55 large-cabin, long-range Global 5000/6000s.
Cessna’s latest Citation arrivals, the Citation M2, Sovereign+ and X+, boosted the airframer’s shipment tally to 104 for the first nine months, from 79 in the period a year earlier.
Gulfstream handed over eight more midsize G150s and super-midsize G280s during the same period.
Piston-engine aircraft also performed well, thanks largely to a surge in demand for these types from the global flight training industry.
Deliveries climbed by 9.2% to 806 units in the first nine months, GAMA reports, with Austria’s Diamond and US market leader Cirrus making up almost half this tally.
“The optimism about the general aviation market on display at last month’s NBAA convention is reflected in the continued recovery of the business-jet and piston-engine segments,” GAMA president and chief executive Pete Bunce says in the third-quarter report. “New products are helping to fuel our industry’s continued growth as we continue to emerge from the recession," he adds.
In contrast, turboprop shipments fell by 3.7% to 412 units between January and September due mainly to a fall in demand for unpressurised types such as the Thrush Aircraft SR2R and Air Tractor AT-series. In contrast deliveries of pressurised types such as the single-engined Pilatus PC-12NG, and Daher Socata TBM 900 – which entered service earlier this year – climbed by five aircraft each, compared with the period last year. The introduction in the coming weeks of Piaggio Aerospace’s new-generation P180 Avanti should help to boost the turboprop shipment tally in the fourth quarter.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
