Bizjet Market Recovering, But Slowly, Say Two Manufacturers

Bombardier Aerospace "is starting to see signs of recovery as shown by the significant reduction in business aircraft order cancellations," according to Bombardier president and CEO Pierre Beaudoin. During the second quarter ending July 31, Bombardier took orders for 26 business jets but had 12 cancellations. While this represents a big improvement from the same quarter last year, when the firm had 27 orders and 80 cancellations, Bombardier Aerospace president Guy Hachey said, "We expected the market recovery to be better by this point." 

Meanwhile, Gulfstream and Jet Aviation are seeing "steady activity," according to Jay Johnson, chairman and CEO of parent company General Dynamics. He said that backlog for current-production large-cabin Gulfstreams is "about where we want to be" at 18 months and that the midsize business jet market is starting to stabilize. "It's not where it needs to be or where it will be," he added, "but we're seeing order book activity for mid-cabin Gulfstreams at modest but encouraging levels."