Honeywell Says Bizjet Biz Is Booming

Honeywell is predicting record growth and record numbers of business jet deliveries over the next 10 years as a new generation of wealthy 40+ entrepreneurs makes the move to private aviation. In its annual forecast, always released on the eve of NBAA-BACE, the general services aviation manufacturer predicts that 8,500 new business jets worth $283 billion will be delivered between now and 2035, despite global economic uncertainty. “The strong demand for new jets continues to persist against a backdrop of increasingly complex macroeconomic and geopolitical factors,” the report says. “However, those factors have not slowed down the demand for new aircraft.”

The numbers are the highest in Honeywell’s 34 years of issuing the forecast, and the company says the trend is showing no signs of changing. “Operators are increasing their usage rates and in turn manufacturers are continuing to ramp up production to keep pace with growing demand,” Honeywell spokesman Heath Patrick said. “Over the next decade, we expect these record-setting levels of deliveries and usage to continue.”

There are some telling trends in the report. Fractionals still dominate the market and they’re behind the shift to midsize and super-midsize aircraft production. By the numbers from the report Honeywell expects:

• New business jet deliveries in 2026 are expected to be 5% higher than in 2025.
• New business jet deliveries are expected to grow by 3% annually on average over the next 10 years.
• 91% of those surveyed expect to fly more or about the same in 2026 compared to 2025.
• 20% of operators globally have at least one aircraft on firm order—up from 17% a year ago. The figure was higher in 2025 for the subset of Part 135 and equivalent operators (private jet charters, for example), where 28% of respondents mentioned they have an aircraft on firm order.
• 89% of respondents consider “performance” among their top three most important criteria when purchasing an aircraft, which compares with 82% from last year’s survey. “Cost” remains a distant second at 56%, which is down slightly from 60% last year.
• Demand for fractional ownership continues to lead industry growth with midsize and super-midsize being the jets of choice for these customers. Among those surveyed, 12% of operators of wholly owned business aircraft say they also own fractional shares.
• Fractional fleets have grown more than 65% since 2019 to roughly 1,300 aircraft now in service.