Aviation News Item: 00907

26th Oct 2009

Source: fly-corporate.com

Attendance at last week's National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Convention in Orlando, Florida was down around 25% on 2008 as the impact of the economic crisis continues to take its toll on the bizav industry.

Although NBAA claimed that 91% of exhibitors from 2008 had returned this year, empty areas on the exhibition floor revealed that those companies had taken less space or, as in the case of manufacturers such as Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and others, had abandoned the convention centre completely to concentrate their efforts on the static display.

Very few companies made major announcements during the show, the exception being Embraer which unveiled its new Legacy 650 large-cabin jet. Planning of the new aircraft started at the beginning of 2008 and has continued despite the economic situation. Cláudio Camelier, Embraer's VP Market Intelligence and Executive Jets explained the impact of the downturn on the programme: "When the crisis hit we re-analysed the project and concluded that this airplane is very viable in any market conditions. The feedback we have been getting here at NBAA confirms those expectations." During the show Embraer announced that Germany-based DC Aviation had signed up for two of the new aircraft. Certification and first deliveries are expected in late 2010.

Dassault Falcon announced that it expects to deliver 80 aircraft this year, up from 72 in 2008. The company is concentrating its marketing efforts in areas of growth such as Brazil and Asia, and anticipates a similar level of deliveries in 2010. Speaking at a media conference during NBAA, John Rosvallen, President and CEO, reflected concerns within the industry when he stressed that: "There are no deliveries to fractional operators in either 2009 or 2010." He also noted that the inventory of used aircraft is affecting new sales more than the ability of companies to obtain financing.

Among the technology providers, EMS launched Forté AirMail which takes advantage of the Iridium low-bandwidth satellite communications system. Forté will make it possible to send and receive emails on Wi-Fi devices such as smartphones, though Internet browsing will not be supported. Arinc Direct demonstrated a new tool which enables flight crew to complete paperwork from a netbook or laptop device. Pilots can adjust passenger manifests, obtain weather information and perform a range of other pre-flight tasks using the new tool. The company is looking for feedback from pilots and charter operators before it continues development.

Honeywell Aerospace released the 18th edition of their Business Aviation Outlook during NBAA. The forecast predicts sales of approximately 11,000 new business jets from 2009 to 2019. The company expects between 750 and 800 new aircraft to be delivered in 2008, down from 1,139 in 2008. In 2010 Honeywell anticipates there will be less than 700 aircraft delivered before the industry begins to recover in 2011.

Bombardier's Business Aircraft Market Forecast was revised just before the show and predicts that business aircraft manufacturers will deliver a total of 1,320 business jets annually in all segments in which Bombardier competes (from light jets to corporate airliners). This is a substantial increase on the industry's annual average of 620 business jet deliveries in the 1998 to 2007 period.

One key observation that many exhibitors made was that the number of international visitors was quite high. "I've noted that about 70% of our visitors have been foreign," stated Robert Blouin, Vice President, Flight Operations, Hawker Beechcraft Corporation as he manned the Hawker 4000 at the Static Display. "It just goes to show you that this business is getting more and more global every day." NBAA itself reported that visitors this year came from 86 countries, an increase from 82 countries represented last year. Perhaps this trend bodes well for EBACE 2010 in May, which is renowned for attracting visitors from around the world.

NBAA's 63rd Annual Meeting and Convention will be held from 19 to 21 October 2010 in Atlanta.

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