GAMA: General Aviation Aircraft Shipments Dip in Pandemic Year

Business jets took the biggest hit in 2020, down 20.4 percent to 674, while overall GA fixed-wing deliveries were down 9 percent and billings 14.8 percent.

The Pilatus PC-24 bucked the trend last year that saw business jet deliveries fall about 20 percent. As Pilatus ramped up production of its twinjet, the Swiss aircraft manufacturer saw PC-24 deliveries tick up a unit to 41 last year. (Photo: Pilatus Aircraft)

By Kerry Lynch • Editor, AIN monthly magazine

February 24, 2021

General aviation fixed-wing shipments and billings predictably dropped across the board in 2020 thanks to the pandemic, with business jet deliveries the hardest hit, down by 20.4 percent, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) reported on Wednesday. However, pockets of the market fared better—piston deliveries were off by just 0.9 percent—leading to an overall decline of 9.7 percent in GA airplane deliveries and 14.8 percent in billings on the year. In all, the industry shipped 2,399 fixed-wing aircraft valued at $20 billion in 2020, compared with 2,658 valued at $23.5 billion a year earlier

On the rotorcraft side, total deliveries fell 17.7 percent to 674, while billings declined 16.2 percent to $2.7 billion. This compares with 819 civil rotorcraft shipped and $3.2 billion in billings in 2019. (Leonardo has not yet reported its year-end totals and is not included in the current year-end comparisons.)

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