Following several months of reported production slowdowns,
staff layoffs and furloughs from the major OEMs, general aviation industry deliveries shrank by more than 45 percent during the first half of this year, compared with the first half of last year, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). The trade association reported that all segments of the industry experienced double-digit declines. “These are extremely challenging times for all general aviation manufacturers and suppliers. Layoffs continue and our industry has been forced to slow and, in some cases, temporarily halt, production lines,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce.
The business jet category saw a nearly 38-percent decline in deliveries in the first half of this year, with a total of 412 jets delivered, compared with 663 in the first six months of last year. The 2008 total was boosted significantly by the 112 Eclipse 500s delivered in the first six months; the now-defunct VLJ manufacturer made no deliveries this year. While following through on its plan to ramp up deliveries of the Mustang VLJ, nearly doubling its first-half 2008 output of 34, Cessna reported a more than 28-percent decrease in 2009 deliveries, down from the record pace in the first half of 2008 that saw the Wichita OEM ship 213 jets. The increase in Mustang production came seemingly at the expense of Cessna’s larger jet offerings, which all saw a decline in deliveries.
