The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has reported on a stark 15.5 per cent drop for general aviation aircraft shipments for the first half of 2011, coupled with a 22.3 per cent decrease in billings to US$7.3 billion when compared to the same period last year.
The disappointing figures saw only 791 aircraft shipments compared to 936 in the first half of 2010. Piston powered aircraft suffered an 8.7 per cent decline, totaling only 387 units compared to 424 in the first half of last year. Meanwhile, turboprop shipments were down to 143 units, down 8.9 per cent on the 157 units shipped in the first half of 2010. Worse performed still were business jet shipments, falling 26.5 per cent to 261 units.
“These negative shipment numbers demonstrate precisely how ill-timed and potentially destructive the Obama Administration’s rhetoric and policies toward corporate jets are for general aviation,” GAMA President and CEO, Pete Bunce said of the most recent figures.
