Gulfstream Lifts Q2 Deliveries but 2026 Output Stays Flat as OEM Backlogs Swell

Friday's private aviation headlines, in order of what matters most.

Gulfstream's Q2 deliveries rose to 41 jets but full-year output stays broadly flat

Gulfstream shipped 41 business jets in the second quarter — 35 large-cabin and six mid-cabin — for 79 in the first half, with roughly 160 targeted for the year. FlightGlobal reports full-year deliveries will stay largely flat on 2025 as completion-centre bottlenecks persist rather than order weakness. For buyers, that means the constraint on getting a large-cabin aircraft this cycle is factory throughput, not availability of demand.

Business aviation's biggest OEMs are sitting on a $46bn combined backlog

Forecast International puts the collective order book across the major business jet manufacturers at about $46bn, with Bombardier alone carrying $21.8bn and a 1.5x revenue book-to-bill in the first half. IBA expects 884 business jet deliveries in 2026, up 6.5% on last year. Order books growing faster than production lines is now the defining feature of the market — and the reason delivery slots are trading at a premium.

Moody's upgraded Bombardier to Ba2 on falling leverage and $1bn of free cash flow

Moody's raised Bombardier's corporate family rating to Ba2 from Ba3 on 17 August while keeping a positive outlook — the second upgrade in twelve months. Adjusted EBIT margin reached 11.4% on a trailing basis through June, up from 10.1% in 2023, with about $1bn of free cash flow expected this year. A healthier OEM balance sheet supports residual values and reduces the risk premium on long-dated deposits.

Infinity Aviation bought the FlightServ FBO at Trenton-Mercer, entering the New York metro

Announced 19 August, the acquisition gives Infinity Aviation Group its third FBO and its first in the New York catchment. CEO Steven Levesque pitched Trenton-Mercer's lack of slot restrictions, on-airport CBP and fast turnarounds as the alternative to congested Teterboro traffic, with more hangar and ramp capacity planned. Consolidation in the FBO segment continues to concentrate handling under a handful of networks.

July flying was up 5.6% globally, but the weekly numbers are already cooling

Argus recorded global business aviation activity up 5.6% year on year in July and 4.4% on June, with North American fractional flying leading at 10% growth. WingX's weekly series tells a softer story: Week 31 was down 2.4% year on year and the year-to-date lead has narrowed to about 3.2%. Monthly strength may be masking a late-summer fade worth watching into September.

Priester Aviation added six aircraft to its managed fleet, three of them on charter

George J. Priester Aviation confirmed six additions to its managed fleet this week, including three jets released to charter. Small in isolation, but each managed aircraft entering the charter pool is incremental supply in a season where operators have been turning away trips rather than repositioning for them.

FAA's gamer-focused controller hiring push has hit 94% of its target

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA's April recruitment drive aimed at videogamers has now brought in more than 2,000 new air traffic controllers, meeting 94% of the hiring goal. Controller staffing is the single largest driver of flow restrictions at the busy Class B airports business aviation shares with the airlines, so any recovery in headcount eventually shows up as fewer ground delays.

Two flights sharing the call sign "American 2482" on one frequency underlines a live risk

Two American Airlines services operating to and from Phoenix were assigned the same call sign on the same frequency simultaneously; controllers untangled it without incident. Call-sign and registration confusion is a recurring hazard for business aviation crews at mixed-traffic fields, where similar-sounding tail numbers and heavy frequency congestion combine.

Heart Aerospace flew the largest battery-electric aircraft yet, on about $5 of electricity

Heart Aerospace's 25,000lb X1 demonstrator flew for 27 minutes from Plattsburgh on 12 August, drawing more than a megawatt from its battery packs under an FAA experimental certificate. It feeds the 30-seat hybrid-electric ES-30, targeted at 2031 service entry. The timeline is long, but the battery-thermal and high-power propulsion work is the same engineering that eventually reaches light twins and trainers.