Bombardier Aerospace predicts business aircraft manufacturers will produce more than double the number of jets each year during the next decade as they have since 1998.
In the period up until 2017, the company”s Business Aircraft Market Forecast suggests manufacturers will deliver 1,320 business jets (from light to corporate aircraft) annually, a substantial increase from the industry average of 620 per year during the preceding decade.
The total forecast of 13,200 deliveries for the next ten years would be worth $300bn.
”As we transition to a more international customer base that features less emphasis on the US, as well as a structural shift towards larger and more cost-effective aircraft, Bombardier”s key product families ” business jets and regional aircraft ” are expected to continue to generate strong interest across all markets,” said Bombardier Aerospace vice-president strategy and business development Mairead Lavery.
”With its comprehensive portfolio of business and commercial aircraft that encompass state-of-the-art technologies and innovative design solutions, and its focus on customer services, Bombardier is well positioned for the future.”
Any concerns that a downturn in the US and world economies might affect the market seem to have foundered on the twin rocks of a recent surge in orders and manufacturers” solid backlogs.
Bombardier president of commercial aircraft Gary Scott also revealed recently that his company plans to certificate its upcoming CSeries jet to fly to London City by 2014, a year after it is due to enter service.
The aircraft has a greater range meaning important business destinations will become viable from the Docklands hub.