Year-over-year airplane deliveries declined again in the third quarter, but revenue at the manufacturers took a much smaller dip. According to the third-quarter shipment report released last month by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), this marked the industry’s eighth straight quarterly slide in deliveries, with overall shipments down 14.5 percent compared with the first three quarters of last year. The total of 136 business jets delivered in the third quarter represents the airframers’ lowest tally since the 124 handed over in the second quarter of 2004.
However, the dip in deliveries did not have a similar effect on industry total billings, which were off 2.5 percent, to $13.47 billion during the first nine months of 2009 from $13.82 billion in the same period this year. The resilience of the delivery values reflects the continued firmness in the market for larger, longer-range aircraft. “You can see that big disconnect,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at industry consultant Teal Group. “Units are down, revenue is holding and that just goes to show the more expensive airplanes are holding up just fine and the lighter jets are still under tremendous pressure.”
