Business jet deliveries soar in 2021

The delivery of executive jets in 2021 grew by 10%, from 644 to 710 aircraft. The volume, however, is almost 100 planes lower than in 2019, the last year without the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The business jet market has shown a growth trend in the light and long-range segments, while medium-sized aircraft lose share.

According to data compiled by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), large jets repeated the 2020 result, with 199 aircraft shipped to customers and a share of 28%.

The very light models continue to expand their presence in the market, with a 23% share while the light jets had 164 aircraft delivered, one more than the VLJs.

The negative balance was with the midsize jets, with 70 deliveries, an increase compared to 2020, but a share of only 10%.

The so-called Super Midsize Jets, versions with greater range, also dropped, from 104 to 101 aircraft. There are also executive variants of jetliners, which had 13 deliveries last year, more than twice as many as in 2020.

Several leaders

As has been the case in recent years, several manufacturers have clamored for delivery leadership among business jets. Honda said the HondaJet was the most delivered in its category, without specifying which category it is.

Embraer, in turn, stated that the Phenom 300 was the best-selling light category jet in the world for the 10th consecutive year. Textron announced that it led the industry in 2021 in the Single Pilot Jet and Midsize Jet categories.

In a way, they all have a reason, but it is worth remembering that GAMA data is not detailed enough to clarify which executive jet was the most delivered in 2021.

Dassault, for example, continues to publicize the Falcon family as a whole, preventing analysis of the models sold. GAMA added up all deliveries of the Global jets, but Bombardier said the 7500 model had 39 deliveries last year.

On the other hand, the association separated deliveries of the Phenom 300E, an improved version of Embraer’s aircraft. In addition to the standard version, the jet delivered 56 units.

Finally, Gulfstream had its long-range jets grouped together while the medium 280 was accounted for separately.

Given this scenario, the good performance of the SF50, a single-engine jet from Cirrus, which had 86 deliveries, 13 more than in 2020, stands out again.

Embraer with the Phenom 300 (56 deliveries) also excelled while Pilatus continues to expand the PC-24’s market presence, with 45 aircraft shipped to its customers.

The Global 7500 also deserves mention for the 39 aircraft delivered, 144% more than in 2020. Check out the ranking of the most delivered jets below: