Graham Warwick/ATLANTA
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT is claiming pole position in business-aircraft sales for 1994, following the consolidation of Beech Aircraft and Raytheon Corporate Jets.
The manufacturer says that it delivered 361 aircraft in 1994, including 133 business jets and turboprops, and ended the year with record sales of $1.72 billion and a backlog of $1.2 billion.
Rival manufacturer Cessna Aircraft had sales of $820 million in 1994 and delivered 121 Citation business-jets, plus 51 Caravan utility turboprops (Flight International, 25-31 January). Raytheon says that it delivered 317 commercial aircraft in 1994, including regional turboprops and piston machines.
Raytheon cites a strong fourth quarter, which accounted for almost 38% of the year's turbine-aircraft deliveries. The company's consolidated figures include 16 Hawker 800 and five Hawker 1000 business jets, nine of which were delivered in the fourth quarter. Beechjet 400A deliveries rose, from 18 in 1993, to 22.
Beech King Air deliveries were almost unchanged at 87, but shipments of the top-end King Air 350 jumped from 15 to 24. A drop in mid-range King Air 200 deliveries, from 37 to 23, left the low-end C90 as the most popular King Air, with 35 deliveries, compared with 32 in 1993.
Figures were boosted by delivery of 50 Beech 1900D regional airliners, up from 45 in 1993, with a further increase forecast for 1995. Raytheon received orders for 87 1900Ds in 1994, including 40 for Mesa Air Group. Deliveries of military aircraft increased from 38 to 44, including 37 T-1A Jayhawk versions of the Beechjet 400A for the US Air Force.
Deliveries of piston-engine Beechcraft declined slightly in 1994, with Bonanza piston-single shipments down from 120 to 103 and Baron piston-twin shipments down from 34 to 31.
Source: Flight International