The addition of Bombardier’s fourth-quarter 2015 business jet deliveries this week brought down the total number of business jets delivered worldwide last year.
That’s according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s updated shipment report for 2015.
The report now shows that total business jet deliveries fell slightly – by four planes, from 722 to 718 – between 2014 and 2015. That amounts to a decline of less than 1 percent.
GAMA released its 2015 report on Feb. 10, a week before Bombardier released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2015 earnings.
To compensate for Bombardier’s late earnings announcement, GAMA officials said Feb. 10 that in their initial shipment report they omitted Bombardier delivery numbers in the fourth quarter of 2014 to provide an equal year-over-year comparison.
The absence of Bombardier numbers for the final quarters of 2014 and 2015 showed an overall increase by four aircraft of global business jet shipments.
So what initially was the only category of general aviation fixed-wing aircraft to show a gain — piston and turboprop shipments decreased between 2014 and 2015 — is now a decline, according to the updated report.
The updated report showed Bombardier delivered five fewer business jets between 2014 and 2015: from 204 to 199.
Bombardier saw two fewer shipments of Wichita-made Learjets in the period, for a total of 32 in 2015, the updated GAMA report said.
On Wednesday, Bombardier officials said in a conference call with financial analysts that they expect to see 2016 business jet deliveries decline to 150, a 25 percent drop from 2015.
A Learjet 75 at Bombardier’s Wichita plant in 2012. The addition of Bombardier’s fourth quarter 2015 airplane deliveries this week brought down the total number of business jets delivered globally in 2015. Mike Hutmacher File photo
Back to other news
