NEWTOWN, Conn. - Honeywell's HTF7000 series appears on medium and super-midsize jets from Embraer, Bombardier and Gulfstream.
NetJets ordered 75 Challenger 300s in June 2012, a huge order that boosted production rates. Bombardier delivered 55 Challenger 300 jets in 2013 and 48 in 2012, up sharply from the 37 aircraft it delivered in 2011. Deliveries of the new Challenger 350 began in 2014. The manufacturer says that it will continue to produce the Challenger 300 alongside the 350, but the list price of the 350 is approximately $26 million, only about 4 percent more than the list price of the Challenger 300. Such a small price gap will push customers to the new model, making it very likely that the Challenger 350 will fully replace its sibling in the near term. NetJets is the launch customer for the new model. It committed to buy up to 200 Challenger 350s at EBACE 2013.
Service entry of the Legacy 500 is scheduled for the third quarter of 2014. Embraer is planning a cautious production and delivery ramp-up for the fly-by-wire equipped aircraft, aiming to deliver only three to six 500s by the end of the year. The 500's most direct sales competitor is Bombardier's new Learjet 85, which is similarly situated between the medium and super mid-size categories.
The 450 took to the air for the first time in December 2013. Service entry of the new model is slated to occur in 2015, about one year after that of the 500. The 450 is positioned in the light medium business jet class, where it competes against the Learjet 75 and two Cessna aircraft: the XLS+ and the Latitude.
Deliveries of the G280 super mid-size jet have been ramping up since its service entry in late 2012. The year 2013 was the first full year of customer deliveries of the G280. 2013 was a good year in general for the super mid-size jet market, as the segment finally began rebounding from the market doldrums of the 2009-2012 time period. New models from other OEMs in addition to the G280 are entering the segment, and the introduction of these aircraft is helping, and will continue to help spur demand in the sector.