Private Jet deliveries see big gains in 2019

Business Jet delivers reached their highest total since 2009, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association

Many of the new aircraft will find their way to both fleet and fractional operators providing access to shareowners and jet card customers

Glory days, well, they’ll pass you by

Glory days, in the wink of a young girl’s eye

– Bruce Springstein

No doubt, many of those involved in manufacturing private jets recall fondly 2008. That’s when the industry delivered 1,317 new business jets. It was an increase from 2007’s then-record mark of 1,137 new private jets delivered. That busted the 2006 numbers, also a then-record of 887 units delivered.

With the Great Recession, deliveries of new private jets dropped to 874 units in 2009, even more to 767 in 2010, then 696 in 2011, before bottoming out in 2012 at 672 aircraft.

Any pickups were tentative. After reaching 722 new private jets delivered in 2014, by 2016 that number had fallen to just 666 new shiny units off the assembly line.

However, in 2019, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) says deliveries of new private jets jumped to 809 from 703, the highest mark since 2009.

An analysis of GAMA data by Private Jet Card Comparisons focusing on both business jets and turboprops offered in Jet Card and Fractional operator fleets and programs showed both winners and losers (below).

However, more and more OEMs have pulled back on publishing detailed data by model, increasingly grouping multiple types together.

Private Jet and Key Turboprop Worldwide Deliveries 2019 vs. 2018

Bombardier Global Express

Bombardier saw a big increase in deliveries of its Global 5000/6000/7500 types increasing from 42 to 53 units. Included is at least one new Global 7500 that ended with VistaJet, which expects to be flying six by year’s end.

It’s now available for members of its Program, which requires 50 hours per year, and a three-year commitment. Of course, that’s just four or five flights for a plane that can fly more than 15 hours nonstop. NetJets is selling both shares and leases in the Global 7500, but no cards.

Embraer Phenom 300

Embraer’s versatile Phenom 300 continued its domination in the Light Jet segment although deliveries dropped to 51 from 53 units.

Several brokers, including Alliance Aviation and Magellan Jets, added dedicated Phenom 300 jet cards, while NetJets also re-introduced the Phenom 300 in jet card format under its Elite program, which includes fuel surcharges and FET in the hourly rate, but has a longer lead time for booking and 45 peak days.

Praetor 500 and 600

Embraer also reported 16 deliveries of its Praetor 500s and 600s, some of which were headed for Flexjet, part of a $1.4 billion order. It is offering them in leases and shares, but no jet cards.

Gulfstream G650

Gulfstream doesn’t break out deliveries of its large-cabin jets. They increased from 92 to 114 and include the G650, some of which are also finding a home with Flexjet and its by-the-day share program.

HondaJet

For HondaJet, while deliveries only slipped by one unit, the troubles of key fleet customer Wijet in Europe may mark headwinds for 2020.

Pilatus PC-12 and PC-24

PlaneSense, which is offering the first jet program using the Pilatus PC-24 in its fractional share program helped the Swiss OEM more than double deliveries from 18 to 40.

Deliveries of the popular PC-12 increased from 80 to 83. The turboprop that typically seats six to eight passengers, is a key offering from PlaneSense, Tradewind Aviation, and Nicholas Air, and is part of broker OneFlight International’s type-specific jet card options.

Citation X

NetJets took delivery of its first Cessna Citation Longitude from Textron, one of 13 delivered. It has received 261 new jets in the past five years.

2019 was also the winddown of Citation X deliveries, dropping to 1 from 4 as Textron moves on from what was once the world’s fastest business jet. However, for its many fans, Wheels Up added six of the type for its new super-midsize program while XO continues to offer a dedicated Citation X program.