Business jet deliveries flat to higher for Bombardier, Cessna in third quarter

Business jet shipments for Wichita manufacturers were flat to higher in the third quarter of 2015, according to an industry trade group report released Friday.

But shipments of piston and turboprop airplanes were lower than in the same period a year ago, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s 2015 Third Quarter shipment and billings report said.

GAMA president and chief executive Pete Bunce said in a news release that new and recently certified business jets likely drove shipments and billings higher, while an idled U.S. Export-Import Bank that’s unable to make new financing guarantees for overseas sales has hurt turboprop shipments.

For Wichita, the bright spot in shipments was in business jets, which generally provide airplane makers the strongest profit margins.

Shipments of Bombardier Learjet 70 and Learjet 75 business jets were flat at seven between the third quarters of 2014 and 2015, the report said.

But at Textron Aviation’s Cessna Aircraft Co., shipments of Citation jets rose from 33 in the third quarter of 2014 to 37 in this year’s third quarter.

The third quarter of 2015 reflected first deliveries of Cessna’s Citation Latitude jet, which totaled four.

Shipments of turboprop and piston airplanes at Cessna and sister company Beechcraft – also a unit of Textron Aviation – were down in the period.

The GAMA report said Cessna shipped 73 piston and turboprop aircraft compared with 80 in the third quarter of 2014.

Beechcraft shipped 39 pistons and turboprops in the third quarter of 2015 compared with 45 in the year-ago quarter.

Total billings at Textron Aviation were higher than a year ago – $655.2 million compared with $598.7 million in third-quarter 2014 – likely reflecting the rise in business jet shipments.

Bombardier’s billings were down in the period, from $1.7 billion in third-quarter 2014 to $1.5 billion in third-quarter 2015. Bombardier shipped two fewer Canadian-made large-cabin, long-range business jets during the period.

The mixed data at Learjet and Textron Aviation was almost consistent with worldwide shipment data in the third quarter of 2015. Total general aviation aircraft shipments dropped 3 percent, although business jet shipments rose 13 percent.

GAMA said 542 airplanes were shipped in the three-month period ended Sept. 30, compared with 561 airplanes in the same period a year ago.

The number of business jets shipped, however, rose to 160 compared with 141 in the third quarter of 2014.

Total billings in the third quarter of 2015 were $5.24 billion, up from $5.05 billion in the same quarter last year.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 1:27 PM with the headline "Business jet deliveries flat to higher for Bombardier, Cessna in third quarter."