A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

Business jet deliveries increased by more than 10% year over year for the first three quarters, while turboprops and helicopters declined, according to the latest delivery totals from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). The third-quarter delivery report released on Tuesday noted that airplane billings rose by more than $2 billion compared with the first nine months of 2024, while helicopter billings increased by 16% to $3.1 billion over that same span.
Among the business jet makers, Gulfstream saw the largest improvement, with the Savannah, Georgia-based airframer handing over 24 more jets year over year (YOY), including 19 more large-cabin jets, equating to a nearly 27% increase over the first nine months of 2024.
Embraer also experienced a strong increase; the Brazilian OEM delivered 102 Phenoms and Praetors through the third quarter of this year, a better-than-18% jump over the previous year.
Canadian manufacturer Bombardier remained steady, with four more deliveries through the first nine months of 2025 than it had a year ago for a total of 93, while Textron Aviation increased its Citation shipments by three units, to 122 twinjets delivered.
Dassault Aviation only reports its deliveries twice a year. Its latest half-year report had it on par with its 2024 deliveries.
At the lighter end of the private jet spectrum, Cirrus had a 14% increase in deliveries of its single-engine Vision Jet, rising from 62 in the first three quarters of 2024 to 72 this year.
Pilatus saw minor erosion, handing over three fewer PC-24s this year, while Honda Aircraft had one fewer HondaJet shipment.
In the bizliner category, Airbus had three Airbus Corporate Jet deliveries in the first nine months of the year, one more than it did in the same period of 2024. Rival Boeing, which handed over two Boeing Business Jets in the first three quarters last year, had none this year.
<h3>Turboprops Dip</h3>
The turboprop segment overall experienced a decline of 6% compared with 2024, while the business turboprop class fared slightly better, with little more than a 1% decrease in deliveries through the first three quarters of 2025.
Textron Aviation led the group with a nearly 16% increase YOY, spurred by its Grand Caravan. The Wichita-based manufacturer added 19 aircraft to its tally of deliveries for the versatile single-engine utility airplane, compared with the first three quarters in 2024. That more than offset a nine-unit decrease among its twin-engine King Air deliveries.
Epic Aircraft, which launched its upgraded E1000 AX single <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2025-04-01/epic-unveils-e1000-ax-garmin-autothrottle-and-autoland">earlier</a> this year, handed over 13 of the new variant in the third quarter of this year. Added to the seven previous E1000 GX deliveries, the deliveries put Epic two aircraft above its pace set last year.
Florida-based Piper Aircraft had a more than 8% increase in deliveries this year, led by seven more M700 Furies than it handed over in the first nine months of 2024.
While its PC-12 deliveries are normally as precise as a Swiss watch, Pilatus Aircraft saw its delivery schedule upset this year by the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2025-08-11/tariffs-force-temporary-halt-pilatus-us-deliveries">imposition</a> of tariffs. As a result, the manufacturer experienced a 22% decrease in the number of single-engine turboprops it handed over compared with last year, moving from 58 in the first three quarters of 2024 to 45 in the same span this year.
Daher also saw a 15% decline in deliveries of its own single-engine offerings, handing over eight fewer TBM 960s than it did a year ago, while Piaggio, which was finally sold to new ownership after years of lingering in receivership, delivered one twin-engine pusher Avanti Evo, one fewer than it did in the first three quarters of 2024.
Piston-engined airplane deliveries remained virtually static YOY.
<h3>Rotorcraft Slide</h3>
The overall rotorcraft market saw a 3.3% drop in deliveries in 2025, with the turbine segment posting a 3.1% decrease.
Through the first nine months of the year, Robinson Helicopters saw the deliveries of its R66 fall by nearly half, from 95 a year ago to just 50. Earlier this year, the Torrance, California-based OEM noted that it was being hampered by supply chain difficulties, particularly in the availability of the Rolls-Royce RR300 engine. At the time, it told AIN: “RHC continues to assemble R66 aircraft through near completion while we await the delivery of RR300 engines.”
Despite that drag on the segment’s overall delivery numbers, the news for the other major rotorcraft manufacturers was mostly positive. Airbus Helicopters improved its third-quarter 2024 total by 24 units, increasing shipments of its H125 and H160 by eight units each, and its H145 by nine units YOY.
Italian manufacturer Leonardo also increased its overall deliveries by nine helicopters, paced by 12 more twin-engine midsize AW139s than it handed over during the first nine months of 2024.
With 11 fewer deliveries of its 505 Jet Ranger X short light single-engine helicopters than a year ago, Textron subsidiary Bell ended the first three quarters of 2025 with 91 deliveries, three fewer units handed over than in the same span last year.
Sikorsky delivered a pair of large cabin S-92s this year, after handing over none through the third quarter of 2024.
“Through the first nine months of 2025, general aviation manufacturers continue to meet the demands of the industry,” GAMA president and CEO James Viola told AIN. “As we look towards closing out the year and into 2026, it is important that we continue working to advocate for and preserve the economic opportunities and societal benefits that the global general aviation industry provides, along with the ongoing safety and technological advancements that will propel the industry into the future.”

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