Private aircraft deliveries climb 1.5% to $20.6 billion in 2018

Airplane shipments increased 4.7%, to 2,443 units in 2018, according to year-end results released by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) today.

GAMA Chairman and Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. President Mark Burns announced that globally, private airplane shipments increased 4.7%, to 2,443 units in 2018. Airplane billings increased 1.5%, from $20.2 billion to $20.6 billion. Worldwide rotorcraft shipments rose 5.4%, from 926 to 976 units. Rotorcraft billings decreased slightly, by 0.7%.

Notable from these numbers is piston airplane deliveries increased by 5.0%, to 1,139 units. Turboprop airplane shipments increased to 601 units. Business jet deliveries improved, from 677 to 703 units. There were 281 piston rotorcraft deliveries compared to 264 in 2017. Preliminary turbine rotorcraft delivery data shows a 5.0% increase, to 695 shipments.

2018 Deliveries By Aircraft Type

“This is the first year since 2013 that we’ve seen all segments up in deliveries,” said GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce. “New certifications over the last two years, especially in the lighter jet segments, as well as demand in North America are driving the business jet shipment increase. This is also the second consecutive year in which shipments of piston and turbine rotorcraft are up, driven by the introduction of new models to the market.”

“While impacts of the U.S. partial government shutdown are still being felt and assessed, we remain optimistic given recent type certifications and other certifications in the product queue that bode well for the large airplane segment to continue its strength,” continued Bunce. “Also encouraging is the demand for specific aircraft types we’re seeing in North America, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa regions.

2018 Deliveries By Manufacturer

Source: General Aviation Manufacturers Association

Foot Notes:

1. A shipment occurs when an aircraft is shipped from its production facility to a customer located anywhere in the world.
2. Shipments may include an aircraft delivery to a fractional operator owned by the company or to an aircraft dealer.
3. Aircraft are considered manufactured in the U.S. when produced under an FAA production approval and in Europe when produced under an EASA production approval.
4. Other military and government aircraft shipments are not included in main shipment table totals, but listed separately.
5. Company billings are not reported. GAMA estimates total billings using public information including BCA Purchase Planning Handbook 2018.
6. AVIC General A2C, CubCrafters CC11, Diamond Aircraft HK36 Motor Glider, Flight Design GmbH ASTM CT Series, and TECNAM ASTM LSA models are included in civil make-model shipment total, but not summary tables. GAMA will further integrate CS-VLA and S-LSA aircraft into future shipment reports.
7. Airbus and Boeing twin aisle shipments are identified in the report, but their values are not included in the calculation of billings.
8. Dassault reports combined civil airplane deliveries twice a year in accordance with company financial reporting procedures.
9. Airbus Helicopters and Leonardo Helicopters report combined civil/commercial and military/government unit deliveries. Billings are estimated for civil/commercial models only.
10. NHIndustries is wholly owned by Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo, and Fokker Aerostructures and provides the focal point for these companies for the NH90 programme. The deliveries of the NH90 are identified under the NHIndustries entry only.
11. Leonardo Helicopters also delivered two T129 kits in Q1, six T129 kits and one AW139 kit in Q2, and three T129 kits in Q3.
12. Leonardo Helicopters fourth quarter data is not available at the time of publication. Leonardo Helicopters will release year-end results in mid-March 2019. GAMA will update the online 2018 report then. GAMA excluded 2017 fourth quarter data for Leonardo in the comparison table.
13. Two additional PC-24 have been shipped to a completion center for extended modification.
14. Viking Air Ltd. Is a new addition to the shipment report in 2018.