Market analysis: Business jet manufacturers recovering from downturn at different speeds

All business jet manufacturers cut production after 2008, but the speed at which they are rebuilding is very different.

With customers cancelling orders in 2008, all of the business jet manufacturers were forced to cut production (although Embraer managed to keep levels up until 2010). Cessna – which faced a similar problem in the 2000 dot.com crash – was forced to cut the most, going from 466 aircraft deliveries to 289 in 2009 and 178 aircraft in 2010 (down 60 per cent in two years).

By 2015, Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer and Gulfstream have said they will be close to their 2008 deliveries, which were records at the time.

Cessna, however, is likely to delivering less than half the aircraft in 2015 that it did in 2008 and Hawker’s production lines (which will be owned by Textron) are set to be closed.