​Business jet shipments climb 21% in Q3 as turboprop shipments sag

Shipments of fixed-wing business aircraft jumped 7% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2019 to 603 units, an increase reflecting a surge in business jet shipments that comes amid sagging turboprop and rotorcraft figures.

The 603 shipments in the period included 183 business jets, up 21% from 151 in the same quarter of 2018, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s third quarter industry report.

Manufacturers also shipped 304 piston aircraft in the quarter, up 7% from 283 on year earlier. But shipments of turboprops slipped 14% from 132 in the third quarter of 2018 to just 116 in this year’s third quarter, says the report.

GAMA pegs the value of all 603 fixed-wing business aircraft shipped in the quarter at $4.96 billion, up 18% in one year.

The report also shows a continuing slide in the number of rotorcraft shipments, with rotorcraft manufacturers shipping 161 of their birds in the third quarter, down 32% from 237 in the same period last year.

The third quarter’s rotorcraft figure included 26 piston helicopters (down from 71 one year earlier) and 135 turbine helicopters (down from 166), GAMA’s data shows.

GAMA estimates the value of those deliveries was $717 million, down 27% in one year.

“Turboprops and rotorcraft… continued to encounter headwinds,” says GAMA chief executive Pete Bunce in a release. “Despite these mixed results, our manufacturers continue their investments in advanced factory machinery, design software and associated processes that keep product development cycles robust.”

The third quarter figures mirror year-to-date shipment trends.

During the first nine months of 2019, manufacturers shipped 1,742 business fixed-wing aircraft, up 7.3% year-on-year. Shipments of business jets jumped 15% year-on-year in the nine months to 516 units, while piston fixed-wing shipments bumped up 12% to 877 units, GAMA’s data shows.