According to a May 8 report from the General Aviation Management Association (GAMA) regarding aircraft delivered in the first quarter 2008, bizjet deliveries climbed 40%, turboprops grew modestly, and piston deliveries dropped sharply. Industry billings increased 16.1% to $5.3 billion, an all-time high for the first quarter.
So, what does all that mean?
Well, jet sales are climbing like a, uh, jet, while piston sales are hurting—actually down by 28% for the quarter. If piston aircraft make up your entire market, as they did when I was in the business and as is surely true even today for some dealers in some markets, then this is a horrible report. If you’re selling bizjets, then the sun is shining brightly upon your house.
Or is it?
It has been pointed out to me that current jet deliveries indicate past behavior. Most new jets are sold long in advance. (I remember years ago taking a tour of the factory in Savannah, GA, where the big, beautiful Gulfstreams were built. It was a surprise to me that many of the buyers sent an expert—an engineer, maybe—to live in Savannah and follow the construction of their jet through the entire process.)
Perhaps a better question might be how are jet sellers doing right now? Are they taking orders? Or is everyone putting them off “until we see what the economy is going to do?†I don’t know.
Will piston sales recover? Who knows? Are they all of a sudden that unpopular or is it that smaller airplane buyers are just more susceptible to a weak economy? Probably both.
Will LSA help turn the tide for piston aircraft?
The only thing I know for sure is that the situation bears watching.
FLASH--This just in. I just now read in my new Fortune magazine that helicopter sales are soaring as the oil drilling industry searches frantically for more oil to meet high demands and prices.Â
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