Why do GA manufacturers make Bizjets?

[ebykowsky]

Something that I've been thinking about lately:

Why do GA manufacturers like Beechcraft, Cessna, and Piper (for awhile) make small business jets, while commercial jet manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus neglect this market? It seems like Boeing/Airbus, as companies which mainly produce jets, would have the competitive advantage in manufacturing a smaller jet, as commercial jets and bizjets seem to have more in common with each other than do smaller prop planes and bizjets.

Is it because distribution channels for the bizjets and prop planes are more similar that GA manufacturers are more likely to make bizjets, or is it because the market is too small for Boeing and Airbus to deem it worthwhile? Am I missing something?

 

[JHW]

why does aston martin make sports cars? Couldn't kenworth or blue bird bus make them better ?

 

[timwinters]

Maybe...because bizjets are GA?

 

[deltaindia]

Boeing does make a business jet, which is basically a tricked out 737.
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/bbj/

Airbus does the same with a variant of their A318/A319 models.
http://www.airbus.com/aircraftfamilies/corporate/acj-family/


I suspect neither Boeing nor Airbus has gotten into those markets for smaller versions because because it's pretty mature with the established players like Cessna, General Dynamics, Bombardier, and Beech.

Boeing/Airbus' entire manufacturing and design process is centered around the large transport airplanes. To retool and/or begin making smaller business jets would be a pretty big infrastructure investment, which they aren't in a particularly strong position to do right now.

Embraer is well experienced with the 50-100 seat passenger jets and has taken advantage of their economies of scale to design business jets, though.

http://www.embraerexecutivejets.com/en-us/Pages/Index.aspx

 

[Norman]

Re: Why do GA manufacturers make Bizjets?

For the same reason robbers hit banks. That's where the money is.

 

[ebykowsky]

I suppose a better question was why do the traditionally prop plane manufacturers make them while the commercial jet guys don't?

But a couple of the answers here have satisfied my question pretty well.

 

[poadeleted21]

Because that's the only way to make money. There's a reason the big guys don't make piston 4 seaters.

 

[Ted]

While a bizjet may look more like a big iron jet to us than a piston single, the market requirements for bizjets are actually closer to piston singles than they are to big commercial iron. It's really a GA vs. commercial thing rather than a piston vs. jet thing. The two markets are very different with very different requirements. About the only thing in common is they both involve flying. Could the big iron guys make bizjets? Sure, but they wouldn't be as efficient at it.

Also, Boeing will sell any of its jets in VIP/Bizjet form. All it gets is a special paint job and interior. There are a few 787 and 747s that get sold as private bizjets.

 

[poadeleted21]

While a bizjet may look more like a big iron jet to us than a piston single, the market requirements for bizjets are actually closer to piston singles than they are to big commercial iron. It's really a GA vs. commercial thing rather than a piston vs. jet thing. The two markets are very different with very different requirements. About the only thing in common is they both involve flying. Could the big iron guys make bizjets? Sure, but they wouldn't be as efficient at it.

Also, Boeing will sell any of its jets in VIP/Bizjet form. All it gets is a special paint job and interior. There are a few 787 and 747s that get sold as private bizjets.

Bombardier.

 

[Ted]

Bombardier.

They're an exception, as is Embraer with their Legacy and Phenom BizJets. However, as I understand it they're also different departments, other than the CRJ was a growth of the Challenger.