At its annual State of the Industry press conference in Washington, D.C., the General Aviation Manufacturers Association released the General Aviation aircraft delivery numbers for 2018. For the first time in five years, all segments of the industry showed increased numbers. GAMA’s chairman and Gulfstream’s president Mark Burns announced an overall increase of 4.7 percent in airplane shipments for a total of 2,443 for the year.
“New certifications over the last two years, especially in the lighter jet segments, as well as demand in North America are driving the business jet shipment increase,” said GAMA’s president and CEO Pete Bunce. “This is also the second consecutive year in which shipments of piston and turbine rotorcraft are up, driven by the introduction of new models to the market.”
While Bunce cautioned that the extended partial government shutdown might have some negative effects on the industry, he said new certifications are likely to keep the market strong.
The shipment numbers increased about five percent for piston and turboprop airplanes, while bizjets deliveries saw an increase of nearly four percent. However, the total airplane billings increased by only 1.5 percent, for a total of $20.6 billion for the 2,443 airplanes delivered for the year. The piston market had a particularly good year with 1,139 airplanes, the greatest number of piston airplanes delivered since 2008.
Meanwhile, the number of helicopters delivered increased by 5.4 percent; however, billings actually decreased by 0.7 percent, for a total number of $3.6 billion.
