By Benet Wilson
January 7, 2011
The years 2009 and 2010 will go down in the history books as a time of headwinds, but hardly a ‘full thrust reverser stop’ to the world economy, says a new report.
“In fact, as all of the 2010 data are tallied up at the close of the fiscal and calendar year, many economists are predicting that global GDP will have already recovered to pre-Great Recession levels,” writes Rolland Vincent, president of Plano, Texas-based aviation consultancy Rolland Vincent Associates. “Despite the many ‘doom and gloom’ messages circulating about the current state of the business aircraft industry, there are clear indications that the market is not collapsing but rather evolving.”
According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), new GA aircraft shipment value through the first nine months of 2010 was $13.5 billion, off just 2.5% year over year from $13.8 billion in 2009, says the report. “To put this performance in perspective, these 9-month delivery values are the fourth highest on record according to GAMA statistics,” it adds.
The 2010 delivery value already matches that of the worldwide industry for the entire year of 2001, says the report. At the time, 2001 was described by GAMA as ‘an all-time high’, and ‘fully three times larger than the industry had achieved just 6 years before,’ it adds.
“As we work through the final days of 2010, it is an opportune time to look back at where the business aviation industry has been, the achievements that have been registered, and the direction we are headed,” Vincent writes. “As with any journey, it is always wise to have a full tank of fuel, but in the given circumstances, half a tank will certainly do.”
Source: AVIATION WEEK
Date: 2011-01-07