Honeywell has significantly increased the number of business jets it predicts will be sold in the next 10 years to 14,000 and Embraer says it, too, is revising its projections upward. The Brazilian planemaker last year predicted that about 11,600 business aircraft would be sold between 2006 and 2016 but says that’s too low. The new Embraer report will be prepared soon but the Honeywell report, which came out on the eve of the National Business Aviation Association convention in Atlanta, has already caused a buzz on the convention floor. The 14,000 deliveries add up to $233 billion in sales and represent a 16 percent increase in the number of aircraft sold and a 20 percent increase in revenue for manufacturers.
Honeywell said the U.S. market will remain solid but most of the growth will come from offshore. Traditionally, 30 percent of the business jet market is from overseas but in coming years it could reach 50 percent. More than 1,000 business jets will be sold this year and as many as 1,400 will be sold in 2010, before sales start to drop. Oil rich areas of Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe will provide the most offshore customers.
