GA Aircraft Shipments And Billings Down Almost Across The Board | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Wed, Feb 22, 2017

GA Aircraft Shipments And Billings Down Almost Across The Board

Only Uptick Was In Turboprop Airplanes, Turbine Helicopters Hit Hard

The news is pretty much all bad, and some of it is really bad, in the GAMA 2016 year-end report of aircraft shipment and billings numbers released at its “Annual Industry Review” press conference Wednesday.

GAMA Chairman Simon Caldecott, President and CEO of Piper Aircraft, announced that airplane shipments globally fell 3.9%, from 2,331 units in 2015 to 2,241 units in 2016 from the same reporting companies, whereas airplane billings declined 14.1%, from $24.1 billion to $20.7 billion. Worldwide rotorcraft shipments fell 16.9%, from 1,036 units in 2015 to 861 units in 2016. The rotorcraft billings declined from $4.7 billion in 2015 to $3.6 billion in 2016.

Business jet shipments in 2016 were at their lowest number since 2004 at 661 units delivered, compared to 718 units in 2015. Turboprop airplane shipments provided a bright spot, increasing from 557 units in 2015 to 576 units in 2016 for the same reporting companies, a 3.4% increase. Piston airplane shipments declined from 1,056 units in 2015 to 1,004 units in 2016, a reduction of 4.9% for the same reporting companies. Turbine helicopter shipments, based on initial data, declined from 757 units in 2015 to 637 units in 2016. Piston helicopter shipments declined from 279 units in 2015 to 224 units in 2016.

“The 2016 year-end results were disappointing overall, although we did see some blue sky in the turboprop sector,” GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce said. “As we look toward 2017 and beyond, we are optimistic about the future and encouraged by the number of companies investing in innovative research and development programs and planning to bring new products to market.

“GAMA is actively working to create the regulatory environments that will make it more efficient and effective for manufacturers to offer new products and technologies to their customers, enhancing safety, efficiency, connectivity, and comfort,” Bunce continued. “We are encouraged by the completion of the Part 23 rule by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and look forward to similar actions in Europe, as well as adaptation of these rule-making principles to rotorcraft and transport category airplanes. However, to enable and sustain that growth, policymakers and regulators must continue to work with industry to streamline regulatory processes and facilitate the global flow of aviation products.”

SHIPMENTS OF AIRPLANES MANUFACTURED WORLDWIDE

  2015 2016 CHANGE
Piston Airplanes* 1,056 1,004 -4.9%
Turboprops* 557 576 +3.4%
Business Jets 718 661 -7.9%
Total Shipments 2,331  2,241 -3.9%
Total Billings $24.1B $20.7B  -14.1%

SHIPMENTS OF ROTORCRAFT MANUFACTURED WORLDWIDE

  2015 2016 CHANGE
Piston Helicopters 279 224 -19.7%
Turbine** 757 637 -15.9%
Total Shipments 1,036 861 -16.9%
Total Billings $4.7B  $3.6B -23.0%

Noes:
* AVIC General was added to the shipment report in 2016. The 2016 piston and turboprop airplane data includes shipments from AVIC General. For purpose of comparison with 2015, the AVIC General data is not included.
** Leonardo Helicopters Q4 data was not available at the time of publication. Leonardo Helicopters will release year-end results in March 2017. GAMA will update the online 2016 report then. For the purpose of comparison, GAMA excluded 2015 Q4 data for Leonardo.

(Source: GAMA news release. Images from file)

FMI: Full Report Details

Advertisement

More News

Airborne 07.11.25: New FAA Boss, New NASA Boss (Kinda), WB57s Over TX

Also: ANOTHER Illegal Drone, KidVenture Educational Activities, Record Launches, TSA v Shoes The Senate confirmed Bryan Bedford to become the next Administrator of the FAA, in a ne>[...]

Airborne-Flight Training 07.10.25: ATC School, Air Race Classic, Samson School

Also: Sully v Bedford, Embraer Scholarships, NORAD Intercepts 11, GAMA Thankful Middle Georgia State University will be joining the Federal Aviation Administration’s fight ag>[...]

Airborne Affordable Flyers 07.03.25: Sonex HW, BlackShape Gabriel, PRA Fly-In 25

Also: DarkAero Update, Electric Aircraft Symposium, Updated Instructor Guide, OSH Homebuilts Celebrate The long-awaited Sonex High Wing prototype has flown... the Sonex gang tells >[...]

Airborne-Flight Training 07.10.25: ATC School, Air Race Classic, Samson School

Also: Sully v Bedford, Embraer Scholarships, NORAD Intercepts 11, GAMA Thankful Middle Georgia State University will be joining the Federal Aviation Administration’s fight ag>[...]

Rick Kenin New Board Chair of VAI

30-Year USCG Veteran Aviator Focusing On Member Benefits The Vertical Aviation International Board of Directors announced its new leadership officers in April, and all began their >[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC