Business jet manufacturers are expected to deliver 9,250 new business jets over the next 10 years, nearly 800 fewer deliveries than was forecasted for the same period a year ago, according to Honeywell’s annual Business Jet Aviation Forecast issued Sunday night.
Honeywell’s annual guidance for the business aviation market, launched on the eve of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) event in Las Vegas, valued the 10-year delivery numbers at $250 billion, nearly 3 percent higher than its forecast last year, driven by more demand for larger and more expensive aircraft that have more range as operators look to fly further with more cabin space.
“The trend toward larger cabin aircraft with ever-increasing range expectations and advanced avionics is seen more strongly than ever in this year’s survey,” said Rob Wilson, president of business and general aviation at Honeywell.
Honeywell is projecting manufacturers will deliver between 600 to 625 new business jets for 2013, down from 672 deliveries in 2012 according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s (GAMA) 2012 year-end report. Deliveries of business jets have fallen over the last four consecutive years as the industry continues to recover from the economic recession that began in 2008.
The lower expectation for 2013 is due to more to “new program delays rather than deterioration in demand,” according to Honeywell.
Within its forecast, the company also projects regional demand, and the 2013 report indicated lower business aircraft purchasing plans for the four countries that are considered to be emerging markets driving future growth, Brazil, Russia, India and China. These emerging markets will have to continue to improve their infrastructure, especially air traffic management technologies to support future fleet growth.
“We continue to see underlying macro trends that support potential demand for business jets, making the industry’s long-term prospects attractive,” said Wilson. “Other factors we believe will help accelerate global business aviation growth are long overdue structural and regulatory reforms, which have the potential to unlock significant spending power that would propel aviation expansion. Product innovation in the form of Honeywell’s Ka-band satellite communication technology solutions and our SmartView Synthetic Vision System upgrades supports the expanded use of business aircraft as a key tool in the global economy.”
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