Hawker Beechcraft loses industry confidence
In December 2012 we got together with BlueSky Business Aviation News to ask the private aviation industry what it expected to see in the coming year.
There were some fascinating results and an overall sense of optimism about 2013 for the industry. See infographic summary of results of our business aviation survey.
One of the questions was ‘Which Aircraft Manufacturer will show the most growth in 2013?’, with the results as follows:
| Answer Choices | Responses |
|---|---|
| Bombardier Aerospace | 39.08% |
| Embraer | 31.03% |
| Cessna | 12.64% |
| Gulfstream Aerospace | 12.64% |
| Dassault Aviation | 4.60% |
| Hawker Beechcraft | 0% |
At industry conference EBACE in 2011, an outspoken banker shocked the industry by questioning if private jet manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft would still be trading in 2012. Now, within less than 2 years, our industry poll seems to confirm agreement from the private jet industry. Of the 389 participants, not a single one voted for Hawker Beechcraft.
It is widely accepted that when the Wichita-based Hawker Beechcraft emerges from Chapter 11, they will be a leaner company and will manufacture only a reduced fleet of their current aircraft. This is what I expect to see:
- The King Air will emerge as the key product, leading their twin engined propeller range.
- The non-profitable Hawker range of business jets will be ended.
- The Beechcraft military training and light attack aircraft are likely to be saved – with heavy US government support I suspect.
Keen to protect the King Air’s solid reputation, Hawker Beechcraft are offering new customers free Avionic upgrades.The King Air has been a favourite of the PrivateFly charter team, here’s why: Spotlight on Hawker Beechcraft King Air. We are pleased to say it’s future is almost certainly safe.
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