A Little Good News

As Editor for AMT I receive and read many different press releases each day. Most are aviation related and some not so much. Some are good news and some not so good. We all can agree that over the past year or more it seems we see and hear our share of bad news regarding the current economic times we are living in, and closer to home the effect it’s had on the aviation industry. Everyone one of us knows aviation people that are out of work, flight departments cutting back, businesses closing, or airlines that have reduced capacity. Yesterday I was reading a press release which caught my attention. The reason I mention this particular release was my initial reaction was, “hey this looks like some good news,†and I believe we are all looking for some good news. Aviation market consultant Brian Foley issued a new 10-year forecast of business-jet deliveries. I realize that a lot of information and some well-thought-through assumptions go into the analysis for making predictions and forecasts, and there are many unknown factors and events that can change the most accurate predictions. I am not familiar with  Foley’s company or his work, but I thought this was worthy of mentioning. The following is an excerpt from his release. “We see deliveries rising at a steady 2.7 percent per year (Compound Annual Growth Rate) between now and 2019,†Foley said.   In all, a respectable 8,900 business jets worth $170 billion will be delivered through the period. The report goes on to state another interesting point, that is a rise in the number of business jets going to markets outside of North America from a historical 30 percent to 48 percent. I will post the entire press release on the AMT Top News section of the website for your reading and for your own conclusion. Again, I believe we are all looking for a little good news these days. In a few days I will be attending the HeliExpo 2010 in Houston, TX. I’ve personally heard from many companies who plan on attending. I’m eager to get a sense from both the attendees and others from the helicopter industry’s many suppliers, manufacturers, and service providers, on how they actually feel regarding the outlook for 2010 and beyond. It’s my hope I can report back to you with some favorable news and reports of good things happening. If any of you plan to be at HeliExpo 2010 please stop by booth #2100 and say hello to the AMT staff. Ron