Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Business jet backlogs have reached at least a 16-year high, with the top five producers combining for more than $51 billion in the first quarter, according to the latest data from industry analyst JetNet. During its State of the Market Briefing on Monday at EBACE in Geneva, Rollie Vincent, president of Rolland Vincent Associates and JetNet iQ creator/director, noted that business jet deliveries are expected to scale up by 13% this year to 820 units, up from 729 in 2023. That is expected to grow in 2025 but at a slower rate, ticking up by 3% to 845.
Year-to-date, 186 jets have been handed over, led by the Cirrus Vision SF50 G2+ at 23, followed by the Phenom 300E at 18, Bombardier Challenger and Citation Latitude at 15 apiece, and Pilatus PC-24 at 13.&nbsp;Textron Aviation has topped the delivery board with 52 jets handed over, followed by Gulfstream, 34; Bombardier, 32; Embraer and Cirrus, 23 each; and Dassault, seven.
On the turboprop front, deliveries are expected to grow 9% to 425 aircraft this year, up from 389 in 2023, before settling back to 415 in 2025. The Pilatus PC-12 NGX remains a top seller thus far in 2024, accounting for 20 of the 82 turboprops delivered. The Daher Socata TBM 960 follows with 17 and the Caravan 208B EX at 16.
Overall, Vincent said, the industry is enjoying “good times,” and he pointed to the healthy backlogs that span two years for most of the OEMs. “We have backlogs that are holding, and that’s good news.”&nbsp; Also encouraging, he added, is that despite the attention around fleet orders, the backlogs are supported by substantial single or double orders from a range of customers.
Book-to-bill has edged back up a bit as well, but he cautioned that deliveries tend to dip in the first quarter, which may tilt it higher.
The upbeat outlook comes as owner/operator sentiment in North America, which has been a strong market for new orders, has remained down since the third quarter. This sentiment may have lasted a little longer than expected—Vincent said this can be seasonal—but “if the mood picks up in the U.S., you could see demand continuation that will surprise us and that is going to keep us really busy.”
He added that JetNet expects to see a ramp in production and is watching for other signals before bending up that forecast long-term.
As for preowned aircraft, available inventory has crept up from the low point in 2022. But Vincent noted that despite the overall percentage of jets for sale worldwide reaching 7.5% worldwide, that number shrinks to 1.3% for aircraft delivered since 2014 and to 0.5% for aircraft five years or less.
While the industry is flourishing, views tend to vary regionally. When asked about top industry challenges in the next five years, both North American and European operators listed supply chains within their top two concerns. However, in Europe, environmental sustainability issues were the second most challenging issue, but that did not rise to the top five issues in North America.
In fact, when asked whether they would consider using sustainable aviation fuels, only 9.2% of respondents in North America said they strongly agreed that they would and 26.2% said they somewhat agreed. This compares with Europe, where 57.6% indicated strong or somewhat strong plans to use SAF. Vincent said this shows that the industry still has to work to do.
Conversely, when asked about the willingness to promote the industry, respondents in North America logged a net promoter score of 49% (those who would promote versus the detractors), while Europe had a score of just 15%. Vincent said that may play in the ability to attract new workers.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

JetNet: Big Backlogs Providing Bullish Outlook

Backlogs are holding above $50 billion, while deliveries will be up 13% this year

Business jet backlogs are steadily topping $51 billion as deliveries are ramping up by 13%, JetNet reports.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Matt Thurber

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Company's backlog is 79 Falcons, and 2024 orders reached 26

Dassault Delivers 5 More Falcon Business Jets in 2024

Curt Epstein

The OEM saw a 15-unit increase from 2023

Embraer Executive Jets Finishes Off 2024 Strong

AmyWilder

Aircraft ready for immediate operations in U.S.

Dassault Falcon 6X Delivered in U.S. with Nimbl Support

Charles Alcock

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

Company progressing towards hover-to-cruise transition flights

Vertical Starts Piloted Thrustborne Flights With VX4 eVTOL 

Jessica Reed

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Henry Brooks of Collins Aerospace will serve as chair of the board

GAMA Announces 2025 Executive Committee Leadership Team

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

EBACE Convention News 2024

More In Aircraft

Dassault Delivers 5 More Falcon Business Jets in 2024

Company's backlog is 79 Falcons, and 2024 orders reached 26

Embraer Executive Jets Finishes Off 2024 Strong

The OEM saw a 15-unit increase from 2023

Dassault Falcon 6X Delivered in U.S. with Nimbl Support

Aircraft ready for immediate operations in U.S.

Vertical Starts Piloted Thrustborne Flights With VX4 eVTOL

Company progressing towards hover-to-cruise transition flights

GAMA Announces 2025 Executive Committee Leadership Team

Henry Brooks of Collins Aerospace will serve as chair of the board

Qatar Executive's G700 Fleet Grows with Two Additions

Carrier has six Gulfstream G700s in its fleet and awaits four more

Business Aircraft Flying Soars Higher in December

Strong North American market boosts overall activity

Pilot Report: Pilatus PC-24

The Super Versatile Jet is full of surprises

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN