Becoming a professional aviator provides a pilot with several exciting career paths to choose from. Flying business jets as a corporate pilot is a very satisfying career, and the industry is making a comeback which will open up job prospects as it expands.
Despite the sharp economic downturn in 2009, Bombardier Aerospace believes business aircraft manufacturers will still deliver some 75 percent more aircraft in the next 10 years than they did in the previous 10-year period. Bombardier, which released its Business Aircraft Market Forecast during last week's Paris Air Show, predicted a market for 11,500 aircraft that will generate $256 billion in revenue from 2009-2018. This compares with 6,500 business aircraft valued at $122 billion delivered between 1999 and 2008, Bombardier said.
New orders for business jets are expected to dip in 2009, but eventually grow to 1,400 aircraft per year by 2013, the company said. Orders reached a record 1,800 in 2007, and manufacturers were on a strong pace in the first half of 2008, with orders for 1,375 more aircraft.
Bombardier was optimistic about another key factor manufacturers cite in the current economic cycle - image. "Business jet usage suffered from considerable negative media coverage during late 2008 and into 2009, particularly in the U.S.," it said. "The resulting high-profile media coverage masked the fact that for the vast majority of owners and users, business jets are vital assets for increasing company productivity and competitiveness. Business jets are as much a productivity tool as smartphones and laptop computers."
But industry, led by the National Business Aviation Association and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, has "responded vigorously" with the No Plane, No Gain education and advertising campaign, Bombardier said. The company "believes that unwarranted negative perceptions regarding business jets will no longer be an issue once the market fully reassesses the positive benefits offered by business aviation."
