AVIATION WEEK Special Report on the Future of Business Aviation

Articles review Wichita's woes, competition in China, and forecasts for the recovering industry

NEW YORK, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- From the front lines of the business aviation industry's meltdown in Wichita, Kansas, to the flight paths of the emerging market in China, and several airports and factories in between, AVIATION WEEK reports extensively on the future of the business aviation industry this week in new issues of Aviation Week & Space Technology, Business & Commercial Aviation, BCA ShowNews and on AviationWeek.com. An in-depth account of how business aviation's crisis forced Wichita's three business jet producers, Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and Bombardier's Learjet, to shed 12,000 jobs, or nearly 30% of the local aerospace workforce, in less than a year, is supported by interviews, profiles and analyses of the beleaguered industry, its primary challenges and rising international competitors, and asks, "Could Wichita become the next Detroit?"

"It will probably be at least five years before we get back to 2008 production levels," says Jack Pelton, chairman, CEO and president of Cessna Aircraft, in an interview with Aviation Week. "We're predicting 2010 as the market low point, but it will be a slow crawl out." Released this week and viewed as a key barometer of the industry's health, Honeywell Aerospace's Business Aviation Outlook, reports Aviation Week, supports Jack Pelton's view that the industry will see a slow ascent, with more pain in the near-term. It also sees a continued globalization of the industry, with markets outside of North America accounting for more than half of deliveries over the next five years.

In China, profound government reforms are expected to accelerate business aviation activity. "The dam holding back Chinese business aviation is breaking," write Bradley Perrett and Joseph C. Anselmo in an Aviation Week article, "giving manufacturers the hope of selling large volumes of aircraft in a market that has always had great potential but frustratingly little immediate value." Recently eased policies for flight plans (three hours in advance rather than 24 or more) and the planned opening of low-altitude airspace for civilian use could lead to new infrastructure airports, hangars, repair stations and business jet demand in the world's second largest economy.

For more news, analysis, blogs and videos from AVIATION WEEK's comprehensive report on the future of the business aviation industry, visit http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/business/?channel=busav or visit AVIATION WEEK booth #2929 at NBAA 2009 on October 20-22.

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