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Business Jet Market Rebounding
Business jet production sunk to record low levels in 2000 and 2003, accompanied by an unprecedented glut of used aircraft flooding the resale market. But data for first quarter 2004 indicates the market is now recovering, according to "The World Market for Business Jet Aircraft" compiled by Forecast International (www.forecast1.com). Business jet production in 2004 will increase about 14% compared with 2003, signaling the start of the recovery, according to the Forecast International study.
Total demand for business jets during the next decade will exceed 10,000 units, resulting in revenues of about $135 billion (108 billion euros) in 2004-year dollars. The reason for the recovery is the efficiency of the business jet as a time-savings tool that allows firms to "utilize business aircraft to control the travel schedules of their employees," the study claims. Time spent on congested highways traveling to and from commercial jet ports, processing time awaiting gate security procedures, boarding and disembarking crowds, luggage claim delays and gate holds make commercial air travel increasingly less attractive for business travelers. Hub-and-spoke, store-and-forward, air freight inspired route structures have eliminated most nonstop passenger flights, thereby increasing travel times substantially. Business travelers are just plain fed up with poor airline service.
During the next decade, Textron's Cessna Aircraft will earn a 30% share of the business jet market, delivering almost 330 aircraft per year. General Dynamic's Gulfstream Aerospace, though, will earn the most revenue, with total sales of almost $33 billion (26.5 billion euros) from 2004 to 2013, according to Forecast International. Microjets, such as the Cessna Citation Mustang and Eclipse 500, will be mainstays of the entry-level jet market, according to the study.
For more information, contact Monty Nebinger at (203) 426-0800 or monty.nebinger@forecast1.com.
—Fred George
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