And tips on how to use the document
Tailwinds are pushing business aviation forward. More first-time passengers have experienced the benefits of general aviation and business aviation in the past year because of the pandemic. Like other manufacturers, “We have seen more first-time buyers than ever before, and corporations are also experiencing renewed interest in private aviation,” Michael Amaltifano, Embraer executive jet’s president and CEO, said during EBACE Connect. Gulfstream president Mark Burns agreed and said the OEM is seeing customers who have chartered aircraft or owned a fractional stake who are coming in as first-time buyers of full airplanes. Buyers “really came back into the market in the third and fourth quarter [of 2020],” and that trend should carry through 2021, he said.
Related to that is a tailwind from aircraft deliveries, which were generally higher in the first quarter 2021 versus the same quarter last year, with Textron (10%), Gulfstream (18%), Embraer (33%) and Pilatus (44%) all showing higher numbers, according to Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery data
The industry is getting a tailwind from flight hours, as well. Light and medium business jets led business jet flight hours in the first quarter—which were 20% higher for small jets and 7% higher for medium jets, compared to the same quarter last year, according to Aviation Week Intelligence Network flight tracking data. However, a headwind from flight restrictions and reduced corporate travel is impacting utilization of larger jets, which was 15% lower the first quarter.
New aircraft entering the market should provide another boost to business aviation. Within a couple of weeks in May, two aircraft OEMs made big announcements. Dassault Aviation led off on May 6 by launching the Falcon 10X, a clean-sheet aircraft design. The largest Falcon will have a maximum range of 7,500 nm, which will allow city pairs such as New York to Shanghai or Los Angeles to Sydney. Dassault plans an entry into service for the ultra-long-range jet the end of 2025.
On May 26, Honda Jet unveiled an upgrade to its light business jet, the new Elite S. The enhanced aircraft features an increased maximum takeoff weight of 200 lb., several new avionics features to decrease pilot workload and new paint livery options.
However, a few days before that unveiling Aerion announced it is ceasing operations and will not pursue building its AS2 supersonic jet, scheduled to start production in 2023. While the jet looked sound in its technical and market requirements, it apparently did not get a round of funding needed to move forward. The announcement disappointed many who thought this would finally be the design that would make supersonic business aviation travel a reality. New BCA Features Thank you for the many positive comments we received about our debut first quarter digital magazine. While most of your comments were positive, several people said they would like to read BCA offline. We researched new platforms and are debuting a new one for this issue that will allow you to read BCA online or offline and download the magazine as a PDF via the table of contents in the top left corner. We rushed to do this because we know that the industry relies on the Purchase Planning Handbook as a reference throughout the year. It includes the same charts that you’re used to, but we’ve made it easier for you to view—so you peruse by sections (pistons, turboprops, jets and ultra-long-range jets).
We also are debuting a new safety column, The Crosscheck, by Roger Cox. Please let me know what you think of this issue. I always welcome your feedback.
Thank you—and to more tailwinds.
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