Following a quarter where business and general aviation shipments were down across the board in the face of restrictions from the Covid-19 pandemic, manufacturers have turned their focus to working through the current constraints to reach a “new normal,” according to Jens Hennig, v-p of operations for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. In the first quarter, industry shipments and billings plunged more than 20 percent as manufacturers faced delivery delays and postponements stemming from the restrictions as well as the economic environment. In addition, a number dealt with short-term work stoppages or slowdowns.
Those trends continued into the second quarter. Hennig noted that the second quarter has been split into two, with the first half centered on lockdown or near lockdown and the second moving into a recovery phase.
In the second half of the quarter, regulators at the FAA, EASA and other parts of the world have been working alongside the manufacturers to ensure all efforts are made to resume business to a level now considered “the new normal,” Hennig said. “We don’t expect to back to a complete normal until there is a cure or vaccine in place.”
The big push, he added, is working through the myriad restrictions to deliver as many aircraft as possible and to enable the execution of new contracts. “Different government agencies are involved in supporting that, but there are some constraints we have to deal with,” he said.
The U.S. has provided an aircrew exemption that helps facilitate the delivery of aircraft between states and internationally. Other countries are permitting similar activities. However, not all countries have the same requirements, so the successful use of such exemptions is dependent on the restrictions of both the departure and arrival destinations. “It’s become a very complex environment,” he said. “Each is a case-by-case basis and it is very fluid.” The requirements are also changing regularly.
Manufacturers are having some success in deliveries, he said, adding that, positively, the industry is seeing a return to flying in a number of regions and some recovery of economic activity. “Are there are a lot of things to work through right now both with delivering aircraft and locking in contracts for future orders? Absolutely,” he said. “We are working our way through those. Each day we learn more and more about the new normal we’re being more successful with it.“
Longer-term, however, the industry is dependent on the overall economy, Hennig said. “The economy and the aviation industry as a whole has taken a significant shock. The primary measure is how do we as a nation and world navigate out of the constrained economic environment.”
