The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) released its Second Quarter (Q2) 2023 Shipment and Billing Report, and the results are looking good for the industry. Over the first half of the year, deliveries increased along all segments, with an overall increase in value for shipments so far this year. And the pace seems to be accelerating.
Compared with Q1 of 2023, Q2 recorded a 11.4 percent increase in piston-aircraft sales (713 units), while turboprops were up by 17.4 percent at 290 units. Business jets increased at a more modest 2.4 percent at 296 units, and the overall dollar value of deliveries was up by 1.4 percent at $9.2 billion.
Shifting to a comparison with the second half of 2022 (Q3 and Q4), GAMA reported piston helicopters showed an increase in deliveries of 28.7 percent at 112 units, while turbine rotorcraft deliveries were up by 30.4 percent at 339 units. Dollar value of overall helicopter deliveries was $1.9 billion, an increase of 29.9 percent.
While celebrating the positive news from GAMA’s accounting division, the organization’s president and CEO, Pete Bunce, also struck a political note, calling for action to assign decisive leadership at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ensure continued growth and prosperity. “As we look towards the future,” he said, “it will be imperative that we have stability, accountability and sound direction from regulatory authorities, particularly in the United States. Not only does the FAA need an effective permanent leader during this transformative time for aviation, but the agency is in the process of being reauthorized by Congress.
“We are encouraged by the bipartisanship we have seen throughout the legislative process and hope that the momentum to finalize an FAA reauthorization bill continues to build so that the agency can enhance its ability to deliver critical activities that promote safety, innovation and efficient promulgation of rules, policy and guidance that preserve global aerospace leadership.”
Hard to believe that many people have that much money…..aircraft prices are atrocious.
As far as business jets that means that as of today 0.0000074365% of the world bought a jet.
this year
Isn’t that a fairly misleading stat?
Looks like credit, not cash, is king.
I was thinking the same thing. A 172 and a 182, both designed in the 50s, have crazy prices. I have yet to fly a glass version of either model. And probably never will….
I flew a glass 172. It had about 500 hours on it, and was fast approaching the condition of the ones I usually flew with 5,000 to 20,000 hours on them. Rattle trap with crummy controls, poorly fitting doors and windows, slow AF, mostly benign but quirky handling (seriously, most every other training plane gets criticized for not being a 172 when in reality the 172 is the odd duck), and reasonably comfortable seats.
Right. It’s the same old plane with some shiny screens in front. The best thing about the new models is the integrated autopilot, which makes single pilot IFR an order of magnitude safer. Otherwise, pilots with steam gauges aren’t missing much.
Middle class is squeezed by the wonderful economy our wonderful president is running. Who is buying these aircraft? We all know the answer. “the 1% society” are the ones driving the market. Not us The People.
And to which “wonderful” President are you referring? Since the year 2000, the Republicans have been in office for 3 terms and the Democrats 3 terms (next year). In that time period the cost of a new 172 or 182 has ballooned about 50%. Bottom line, neither political party has done anything to reign in the cost of new airplanes. You would be wiser to point your accusing finger at the management at Textron who is more interested in building high-profit margin jets than lowly spam cans. They would probably have to sell three or four 172s to make the same profit as one Citation jet. Plus, the profit from replacement parts on a jet far outweighs what they get from even the inflated prices on our planes. The reality is that both political parties pander to the rich, which is who pays for their campaigns. Follow the money.
As far as economics go, none of the 6 get a C or better.
Textron is playing a nasty game to keep market share while trying to drive out anyone trying to make better planes. The REAL blame goes to Congress, and thereby to the people. If everyone would stop voting for bad leaders, we could turn this around.
When in doubt, vote against the incumbent or simply skip that line of the ballot. They WILL get the message.
Remind me which ex-president flys around in his own 757?
You’re absolutely right, Zeca.