2023 was a “banner year” for general aviation.
That’s the takeaway from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) 2023 General Aviation Aircraft Shipments and Billings Report.
Released Feb. 21, 2024, during the association’s annual State of the Industry event, the numbers show that “every segment of general aviation improved in 2023,” according to GAMA President Pete Bunce.
“This is strong, steady, and sustained growth,” he said.
“For the first time in more than a decade, the general aviation manufacturing industry has eclipsed 4,000 aircraft delivered,” he said.
Even better, billings topped $27.8 billion, a 3.6% jump from 2023.
And even better than that, there are “robust and growing order backlogs for all segments of aircraft,” Bunce reported.
“This is a testament to the resilience of our industry and the integral role that general and business aviation plays in our communities,” he said.
The boost in numbers is “indicative of how robust the industry is coming out of the pandemic,” he added.
By The Numbers
Airplane shipments in 2023, when compared to 2022, saw piston airplane deliveries increase 11.8% to 1,682, while turboprop airplane deliveries increased 9.6% to 638 and business jet deliveries increased 2.5% to 730.
The value of airplane deliveries for 2023 was $23.4 billion, an increase of approximately 2.2%.
Piston helicopter deliveries for 2023, when compared to 2022, saw an increase of 7.7% to 209, while preliminary civil-commercial turbine helicopter deliveries increased 10.4% to 753.
The preliminary value of helicopter deliveries for 2023 was $4.4 billion, an increase of approximately 11.2%.
GAMA officials note that the numbers for helicopters will change as Leonardo has not yet released its year-end numbers.
Headwinds
While the 2023 aircraft deliveries are “very encouraging,” Bunce added that the general aviation industry “faces headwinds from ongoing supply chain issues, workforce shortages, uncertainty and unpredictability from global regulators, and short-sighted efforts aimed at curbing business and general aviation, particularly in Europe.”
“As civil aviation’s innovation incubator, our entire GA industry is focused on new aircraft and technologies that will lead the way in safety and sustainability for the entire aviation sector,” he continued. “This progress is dependent on having effective, predictable, and accountable regulatory processes, and a supportive business environment. Therefore, it is crucial that the U.S. Congress passes a long-term FAA reauthorization bill, a fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill for the FAA, and a tax measure which is pending that promotes research and development. Likewise, non-U.S. global regulatory agencies must receive the proper budgetary support from their governments to carry out current and future activities.”
“If political entities and regulatory bodies can deliver on their responsibilities, what our industry can accomplish in 2024 and beyond will be extraordinary,” he concluded.
GAMA’s complete 2023 year-end report can be found at GAMA.aero.
Good news for the industry, but at the current prices, it leaves me to wonder how many of those sales were to private pilots.
It would be more informative to know the breakdown of sales to corporations, flight academies, government entities, small air carriers, charters and finally, private pilots.
Having owned 5 good used airplanes throughout the years, spending close to $500k in the current market for a new Cessna 172 is beyond my financial reach as I’m sure it is for many of us as private owners.
My guess is that similar to the auto industry, auto manufacturers are claiming high profits, but that’s because the manufacturers’ sales are to the dealer network rather than the driving public. The dealers buy the vehicles from the manufacturers via dealer bank flooring loan activity. After that, the sale of the vehicle to the public rests on the backs of the dealers who are seeing little to no sales activity. That being said, dealers are currently overstocked with overpriced 2023 vehicles that the average buyer won’t or can’t buy which is creating financial stress if not closure of some dealerships. The end result result is that sooner or later, the manufacturers will feel the lack of sales because dealers are beginning to deny their allocations of vehicles from the manufacturers due to driver/owner disinterest.
At the end of the day, how about it GAMA? Please release the statistics as previously suggested to create an accurate report as to just WHO is buying the new airplanes, rather than non-detailed GENERAL production sales and financial statistics. Inquiring minds need to know!