The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA)’s 2019 year-end aircraft billing and shipment numbers revealed that more business jets were delivered in 2019 than any year since 2009. In total, 809 business jets were delivered in 2019, a 15.1% increase over 2018’s 703 deliveries.
Piston aircraft deliveries experienced the largest growth among the segments at 16.4%. However, turboprop and helicopter deliveries decreased, by 11.3% and 16.3% respectively. The total number of aircraft deliveries in 2019 was 2,658, a 9.3% increase over the previous year.
The largest market for business jet deliveries was North America, accounting for 67.1%, and the second largest was Europe, with 14.3%. For piston-engine aircraft, the top market was North America with 66.4% of shipments, followed by Asia-Pacific, for the fifth year in a row, on 12.8%. For turboprops, North American customers accounted for 50.3% of the global deliveries, followed by Latin America with 16.8%.
“The 2019 year-end numbers reveal that overall, the general aviation manufacturing industry is vibrant, although we are encountering headwinds in the rotorcraft sector,” said Pete Bunce, president and CEO at GAMA. “It is great to see two of our fixed-wing sectors – piston airplane and business jet shipments – reached decade highs. Looking ahead, manufacturers are excited about the future, especially given the ongoing innovation in manufacturing that directly relates to safety and the progress being made in the development of supersonic and electrically propelled aircraft. GAMA and its member companies will support this momentum and technological advancement through our workforce, sustainability, regulatory and legislative efforts.”
