2007 Another Record Year for GA Manufacturers

Year-end shipment figures for the general aviation industry last year led to another record high in industry billings, said the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) last week. Speaking at GAMA's Annual Industry Review and Market Outlook Briefing, GAMA Chair Alan Klapmeier, reported that a strong...

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Year-end shipment figures for the general aviation industry last year led to another record high in industry billings, said the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) last week. Speaking at GAMA's Annual Industry Review and Market Outlook Briefing, GAMA Chair Alan Klapmeier, reported that a strong worldwide market, especially outside of North America, was a driving factor for general aviation in 2007.
"As these economies continue to expand, we expect general aviation to play an ever increasing role in these regions." Klapmeier, who is also chair and CEO of Cirrus Design Corporation, added, "Manufacturer backlogs are strong and we think this bodes well for 2008 and the years beyond."
Record industry billings totaled $21.9 billion, eclipsing last year's figure by 16.5 percent. Year-end, worldwide shipments of general aviation airplanes totaled 4,272 units, the most in more than a quarter century and up 5.4 percent over the previous year's total of 4,053 units. Aside from the record set for year-end billings, the industry also experienced an all-time high in business jet shipments, delivering over one thousand units for the first time in history. Business jet shipments reached an all-time high of 1,138 units, up 28.4 percent over last year's figure of 886 airplanes.
GA exports jumped 28.2 percent to 1,142 units while billings rose 4.4 percent to $4.6 billion. GAMA expressed concern about the continuing loss of pilots, 7,000 of which were lost last year. However, it suggested these losses might be mitigated by the growing number of sports pilots which rose from 900 in 2006 to 2,000 last year. It noted manufacturers are enjoying record backlogs.
In conjunction with JETNETS LLC, GAMA reported that worldwide operator numbers rose to 17,993 last year from 17,178 in 2006. Fractional owners also rose to 4,863 from 4,168. Corporate aircraft grew to 27,130 last year with the U.S. accounting for 17,125 units. The number of aircraft in fractional programs rose from 984 to 1,300.
It noted that in one of its most important issues – the environment – GA accounts for less than two tenths of one percent of overall greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, while all of aviation accounts for only three percent.
There are 221,000 active aircraft in the U.S. general aviation fleet, two thirds of which are used for business purposes, while worldwide, there are 320,000.