Honeywell expects record business jet deliveries over next decade

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(Reuters) -Aerospace supplier Honeywell said on Monday it expects record deliveries of new business jets over the next decade, providing the latest sign that demand for private air travel, which surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, is holding up.

Affluent travelers, who avoided scheduled flights in 2020, helped private flying recover earlier than the commercial airlines’ business, but there were doubts whether they would stick with private air travel once the pandemic was over.

A report by the U.S. maker of avionics and business jet engines, forecasts private plane deliveries at a higher level than before the pandemic, with demand for planes resilient despite a U.S.-led trade war and geopolitical tensions.

Honeywell predicts global deliveries of 8,500 new business jets with a projected value of $283 billion – the highest in the report’s 34-year history – over the next decade. The report comes ahead of the world’s largest business jet show, which starts on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

“More people are flying in business aviation than pre-COVID,” said Ben Driggs, chief commercial and strategy officer at Honeywell Aerospace in an interview.

“Those hours have continued to increase at a much higher level since 2019, so it appears like people are really staying with business aviation.”

Demand has driven up shares of Canadian planemaker Bombardier which is set to start deliveries of its Global 8000 business jet, even as U.S. rival Gulfstream Aerospace launches a replacement to its super-midsized G280.

New business jet deliveries are expected to grow 5%, while 91% of operators expect to fly more than this year. 

(Reporting By Allison Lampert in MontrealEditing by Tomasz Janowski)