1) The GAMA president says passing reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank is critical to ensuring a level playing field for US aviation manufacturers globally. Failure to do so has significantly impacted the agricultural aircraft sector. 2) He argues opposition to reauthorization is illogical as the bank brings a net return to the federal budget through fees. 3) Leasing and finance have recovered since the recession but international political instability still poses a risk to industry growth. Streamlining certification processes could enhance safety and product development.

1. 16 • monitor • NOV/DEC 2015
legislation, which will now head to the U.S. Senate. The
Ex-Im Bank has facilitated deals between U.S. general
aviation manufacturers and international clients since
2012 by providing more than $1.9 billion in financing
guarantees to manufacturers.
Bunce says that passing the reauthorization is a
critical step toward ensuring a level playing field for
U.S. general aviation manufacturers in the global
marketplace. “We are very encouraged by the strong
bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives
this month that complements U.S. Senate support in
late summer to renew the Ex-Im Bank,” Bunce said in
a recent news release. “We are hopeful that the Surface
Transportation bill to which Ex-Im re-authorization is
attached will be conferenced quickly and sent to the
president’s desk for his signature.”
From a fiscally conservative perspective, Bunce says
opposition to the reauthorization is simply illogical. “If
you did away or do away with Ex-Im banking, we would
have a big hole in the federal budget because the Ex-Im
Bank brings a return to the government based on the
fees they charge for their services,” he explains.
On a brighter note, Bunce says the state of leasing
and finance, which is vital to the health of the industry,
has recovered from the Great Recession. “Leasing is
critically important to the whole health of the industry,”
he says. “Right after 2008 there were many banking
regulations that were put in place, both nationally and
internationally, that had an impact on swinging the
T
he most recent aircraft shipment data released by
the General Aviation Manufacturers Association
(GAMA) showed a mixed performance, with
1,558 total shipments of airplanes manufactured world-
wide during the first nine months of 2015, down 6.5%
from 1,665 total shipments during the same period
in 2014. However, total billings in the same period
increased to $15.7 billion, up 1.5%.
Ex-Im Bank Reauthorization
In a news release issued with its Q3/2015 aircraft ship-
ment data, Pete Bunce, GAMA president and CEO,
indicated that the inability of the U.S. Export-Import
Bank to create new financing guarantees since July 1
had significantly affected the agricultural aircraft sector
in the turboprop market.
The Export-Import Bank reauthorization has been
a key priority for GAMA this year, and on October 27,
the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the
GAMA Issues Mixed Q3 Report:
Ex-Im Bank Reauthorization Delay
Causes Turbulence
BY RITA E. GARWOOD
GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce discusses the state of the general aviation manufacturing industry.
Withrecentreportsindicatingamixedperformance,BuncesayspassingtheExport-ImportBankreauthorization
is essential to ensure a level playing field for general aviation manufacturers in the global marketplace.
PETE BUNCE
President & CEO, General
Aviation Manufacturers
Association
“We are very encouraged by the strong bipartisan support in the U.S.
House of Representatives this month that complements U.S. Senate support
in late summer to renew the Ex-Im Bank. We are hopeful that the Surface
Transportation bill to which Ex-Im re-authorization is attached will be
conferenced quickly and sent to the president’s desk for his signature.”

2. NOV/DEC 2015 • monitor • 17
“With the growth of commercial aviation worldwide, we also hope
that the infrastructure on the commercial side that’s created also
spurs business aviation development,” he adds. “We’re very bullish
on international markets. The one thing that dampens that, obvi-
ously, is all the conflict we see around the world. We’re somewhat at
the mercy of all of the instability that we see. Whether it’s Russia, or
what’s happening in the Middle East, all of that has an impact on the
growth of the global market.”
Bunce says the international market has shifted since the Great
Recession when the accelerated economic development of the BRIC
countries was the talk of the industry. “The landscape has changed
some with what has happened recently in China with its market, and
obviously in Brazil with the Russian sanctions,” he says.
Thanks to technology, the whole world is developing rapidly. Bunce
indicates that other international markets are on the rise, such as
South America, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and
other regions of Africa. “Because aviation is a global industry, we want
markets to develop everywhere,” he says.
Beyond the Horizon
Looking ahead to the next five years, Bunce says the best asset to the
future growth of the aviation industry would be stability — both in
the U.S. and internationally. “If we have stability, it allows companies
to formulate expansion plans, and that obviously has a major impact
on the fortunes of business and general aviation,” he explains before
admitting that hoping for economic and political stability around the
world is akin to wishing for world peace. “But that is the one thing that
will raise the fortunes for our industry.”
Going forward, Bunce says research and development are also
essential to continued growth. “Despite the economic downturn,
each one of our member companies has had major new development
programs and new products, and that keeps taking place,” he says.
“So it is very important for us, on the U.S. side of the house, to provide
incentives that allow innovation to continue to happen.”
Bunce says research and development tax credits are important
to that effort. “Having governments recognize that when you have
manufacturing and you can stimulate research and development —
especially with the rapid pace of technology — that is a good thing.
For us, new product development is a critical element. It’s been good to
see that, despite the depths of the recession, our companies continued
their innovation and research on new product design.” m
RITA E. GARWOOD is editor of Monitor.
pendulum the other way on capabilities for lending and
finance. That pendulum now has gradually swung back
toward more equilibrium, and that has allowed more
flexibility with financing.”
Bunce says that while leasing is obviously important
on the commercial side, it is also seen in general and
business aviation as well. “It’s a great capability to get
more aircraft in the system than if each was individually
purchased and owned,” he says.
Streamlining Certification Processes
The hottest topic on GAMA’s agenda right now is its
effort to streamline certification processes with civil
aviation authorities such as the Federal Aviation
Administration, Transport Canada or the National
Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil. Bunce says certifica-
tion processes are currently long and cumbersome.
“We want improvements in relying on each other’s
safety competencies, by use of bilateral agreements,”
he explains. “The more we streamline the process,
the more product development that we have. We are
allowed to put more safety-enhancing technology into
aircraft, which ultimately makes it safer for operators
and safer for the whole airspace system wherever that
aircraft may be operating.”
Other issues on GAMA’s list include implementation
of the Small Airplane Revitalization Act, acceptance of
supplemental certificates on both sides of the Atlantic
and reform geared toward improving the efficiency of
rotorcraft certification.
Next Generation Air Transportation System
(NextGen), which proposes a shift in U.S. air traffic
control from ground- to satellite-based, is another
matter GAMA is monitoring. “We’ve got issues across
the board, whether it’s to continue to make NextGen a
reality or to improve general aviation’s ability to grow
and develop in countries, especially the BRIC coun-
tries [Brazil, Russia, India and China],” Bunce says.
“Those parts of the world are engines for the regional
economies and the global economy, so we want to be
able to see that grow.”
A Global Industry
According to Bunce, half of the general aviation market
is outside of the U.S., while the other half of aviation
products are produced and consumed within the U.S.
“We anticipate the U.S. will continue to be a very robust
market,” Bunce says. Business aviation’s unique ability
to help companies meet their customers wherever they
are and visit several geographic locations in a day will
continue to attract interest throughout the world, Bunce
says. “In a global economy, the business jet is the way
that businesspeople conduct their affairs.”
Bunce uses the Pacific islands as an example:
“When you go to the Philippines, where you’ve got huge
land masses that are made up of thousands of islands
and you need to connect those, ferry boats are slow;
business aviation is fast.
“Leasing is critically important to the whole health of the industry.
Right after 2008 there were many banking regulations that were put
in place, both nationally and internationally, that had an impact on
swinging the pendulum the other way on capabilities for lending and
finance. That pendulum now has gradually swung back toward more
equilibrium, and that has allowed more flexibility with financing.”