Specifications

www.AviationWeek.com/bca
Business & Commercial Aviation ■ May 2012 75
T
he year 2011 was another tough
one for the business aircraft
industry, witnessing a 3.5% overall
decline in general aviation aircraft
shipments, according to GAMA statistics.
Turboprop deliveries declined 2.4% from
2011, light jet deliveries fell 6.3% and the
midsize aircraft sector was flat at best.
Large-cabin aircraft fared much better
with increased demand from China,
Russia and other emerging markets.
The inventory glut in the used aircraft
market continues to drag down demand for
new models in all sectors, a trend that could
continue for several more years. Bargain
hunters still are finding plenty of low-time,
low-priced aircraft on the used market from
which to choose. Aircraft sales transactions
increased in 2011, but asking prices fell
nearly 14% and the number of days that
aircraft remained on the market increased.
The torpor in the used market is
suppressing asking prices for new aircraft.
At the end of 2011, 13.8% of the active
business jet fleet was on block, according
to Jetnet statistics quoted by GAMA. Still,
that’s down from 17% in 2008, the year the
industry’s recession took hold.
Turboprops are faring somewhat better.
Less than 10% of the active fleet is on the
resale market, but asking prices sank in
2011 and the average number of days on the
market increased by nearly a week.
Fractional ownership programs also
continue to suffer, primarily because of the
recession. In earlier years, one in five or one
in 10 new jet deliveries was going to a frac-
tional program. The fractional ownership
fleet shrunk by more than 10% in 2011
and, now, fractional operators are taking
delivery of only a few units per year.
Globally, though, the corporate aircraft
fleet grew by 3%, buoyed mainly by the
acquisition of more long-range, large-
cabin aircraft. Bombardier, for instance,
delivered more than 100 Challenger 605
and 850, plus Global-series aircraft last
year, representing a 9.6% increase from
2010. Embraer delivered 13 Legacy 600/650
jets, plus three Lineage 1000 aircraft.
Gulfstream delivered 90 large-cabin
models, including the first 12 green G650
aircraft to its completion centers. That
was a 20% overall increase in large-cabin
Gulfstream deliveries over the previous
year.
Dassault delivered more than 60 units
with its Falcon 7X flagship accounting
for almost half of the aircraft. However,
the French firm delivered one-third fewer
aircraft in 2011 than in 2010.
China’s high-net-worth individuals are
demonstrating a preference for even larger
models. Airbus told The Wall Street Journal
it had sold 20 ACJs in China in the past
seven years, with five more expected in
2012. Meanwhile, Boeing Business Jets sold
three BBJs in China in 2011 and it antic-
ipates making three to five more sales this
year. Dassault expects to have 30 Falcon jets
placed in China by the end of 2012, tripling
Business Airplanes
2012
Uncertainty continues to roil markets
ByFred George
[e-mail]
Bombardier Lerjet