The business jet boom will continue
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON
The second half of the 1990s saw a period of massive expansion for the general aviation industry. That growth will continue over the next year and beyond as manufacturers across all sectors enjoy sustained order book success, stimulated by booming Western economies.
The US General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) says that aircraft sales (excluding rotorcraft) totalled a record $5.5 billion in the first nine months of 1999, compared with $3.9 billion for the same period in 1998. GAMA reveals that jet aircraft deliveries grew by more than 26%, to 352 aircraft, while piston engine deliveries rose 11%, to 1,164, and turboprop shipments climbed to 176 units, a 9% year-on-year rise. The outlook is especially bright in the business aviation sector, with AlliedSignal Aerospace suggesting "deliveries of business jets will peak next year, but will remain at, or near, record levels before climbing again towards the end of the next decade".
The company projects the delivery of 6,800 aircraft - worth nearly $89 billion - between 2000 and 2010, of which 2,900-3,000 will be moved between 1999 and 2003. Helicopter sales are on the increase, with more than 8,000 - valued at more than $19 billion - forecast for delivery in the period to 2008, according to market analysts Forecast International.
The continuing boom in 1999 saw the certification and first delivery of aircraft such as the Airbus A319CJ large business jet and Galaxy Aerospace's Galaxy twinjet, first of a growing line of super mid-size aircraft. In the light aircraft sector Cirrus Design and Lancair delivered their SR20 and Columbia 300 piston singles.
Even more activity will occur in 2000. Cessna's CitationJet replacement, the CJI, may receive certification by the first quarter, to be followed by its big brother, the CJ2, and the Encore, a re-engined version of the Ultra light jet. Raytheon's Premier I is set for first delivery in "early 2000", a little later than anticipated, with the manufacturer chalking up over 200 orders. About 50 will be handed over during the year. First flight of the super mid-size Hawker Horizon is planned for "early" 2000. New Piper Aircraft aims to certificate its Malibu Meridian single-engined turboprop by mid-year.
The next 12 months may also see independent business aircraft manufacturers enter the market as serious competitors through a host of innovative designs. Alberta Aerospace should be the first off the blocks. Its ownership of the Promavia Jet Squalus settled, the aircraft, now the Phoenix FanJet, should become the first single-engine corporate jet to enter service.
In the corporate configured sector, Embraer is expected to take a decision on a business aircraft derivative of its ERJ-145, joining the growing line of airliner manufacturers keen to exploit this niche. Fairchild Aerospace, which clinched a deal with fractional ownership company Flight Options for its 728JET-based Envoy 7, expects to sign a launch customer for its smaller 328JET derivative early in the year.
In the resurgent helicopter market, 1999 marked first deliveries of Bell's Model 427 light twin and the Agusta A119 Koala single, with the two together unveiling their long-awaited 12-seat AB139. MD Helicopters also became the new owner of Boeing's light civil line and Sikorsky became the first helicopter maker to set up a dedicated fractional-ownership programme.
Certification and first deliveries of the Eurocopter/Kawasaki EC145 twin, a successor to the jointly developed BK117, is due in 2000. Order activity will focus on the police, emergency services, news-gathering markets, and the corporate sector, with the offshore market still in the doldrums. It remains to be seen whether others will follow Sikorsky into the fractional ownership market as they bid to boost order backlogs.
Within the business aircraft sector, fractional ownership continues to boom. Market leader Executive Jet should set up in South America and Asia by year-end; Bombardier, number two operator in North America and Europe, will add the Global Express to its Flexjet fleet; and newcomer Flight Options plans to grow its pre-owned fleet from 43 to 72 aircraft. Galaxy Aerospace, meanwhile, aims to enter the fractional fray by placing its Astra SPX and Galaxy business jets in an existing programme or establishing its own operation.
Source: Flight International