Business Aviation Q3 2026: Bombardier’s US$270 Million Service Push, Garmin’s Record Quarter and Honeywell’s Parts Squeeze

Bombardier invests in service, not just jets

Bombardier said on 23 October that it plans to hire 800 people in the United States. It is recruiting for 500 positions now and plans to create 300 more through expansion projects, 150 of them in Texas. The first phase of infrastructure investment is estimated at US$270 million across Kansas, Texas, Indiana and Connecticut. The centrepiece is a new service facility at Fort Wayne International Airport in Indiana: about 64,500 square feet, room for up to six aircraft, and scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, modifications, avionics installations and AOG support. It is due to open in November, with further projects in Dallas and Connecticut.

For charter clients this matters more than it looks. Many last-minute aircraft swaps happen because a jet is waiting for maintenance or a part. More service capacity close to where aircraft fly should mean less downtime for Challenger and Global fleets, and fewer aircraft-on-ground (AOG) surprises the night before a trip.

Garmin: a record quarter and steady aviation growth

Garmin reported record third-quarter revenue of $1.99 billion, up 12% year over year, and record operating income of $612 million. Its aviation segment grew more slowly but steadily: revenue rose 5%, driven mainly by OEM products, with gross and operating margins of 78% and 26% and $66 million of operating income. Garmin also delivered its 1,000th G1000 flight deck retrofit for King Air aircraft. Retrofits like this keep older turboprops modern, which is good news if you charter a King Air for short regional hops.

Honeywell: the demand is there, parts are the limit

Honeywell Aerospace, now an independent company, grew third-quarter sales 2% to $4,644 million, while its backlog rose 12% to $19.3 billion. Commercial aftermarket sales reached $2.1 billion, up 2%, and the company said healthy underlying demand was limited by mechanical component availability. It still raised its second-half free cash flow guidance to $1.2 billion–$1.4 billion, from $1.0 billion–$1.4 billion. The message for travellers: spare parts for engines and systems remain a bottleneck, and that is one reason aircraft availability can tighten without much warning.

Full order books and a seller’s market

Embraer’s Executive Aviation backlog reached a record US$8.2 billion at the end of the quarter, up 12% year over year. On the used side, IADA dealers completed 409 preowned aircraft transactions in the third quarter, against 367 a year earlier, and 1,155 in the first nine months versus 983. IADA’s buyer-seller index fell to 2.65 from 3.16 a year ago, the strongest seller advantage in almost three years.

Desk takeaway

New jets are sold out well ahead, good used ones are scarce and parts are tight. All of that keeps the existing charter fleet busy. If your dates are fixed, book early, stay open on aircraft type and ask which operators have a back-up aircraft. Browse the empty-leg board, set empty-leg alerts for your routes and follow the market in Market Intelligence.

Verified data & source

Every quantitative statement below comes from one of five separately cited sources: a Bombardier press release (23 October 2026), Garmin’s third-quarter 2026 results release (28 October 2026), Honeywell Aerospace’s third-quarter 2026 results release (28 October 2026), an Embraer press release (23 October 2026) and the IADA Third Quarter 2026 Market Report (26 October 2026). Figures are reported exactly as published; nothing is blended or derived.

Key verified statements (Bombardier press release, 23 October 2026; Garmin press release, 28 October 2026; Honeywell Aerospace press release, 28 October 2026; Embraer press release, 23 October 2026; IADA Third Quarter 2026 Market Report, 26 October 2026):

• Bombardier plans to hire 800 people in the United States: it is actively recruiting for 500 positions and plans to create an additional 300 jobs through footprint expansion projects, 150 of them in Texas, driven by infrastructure investments estimated at US$270 million in the first phase across Kansas, Texas, Indiana and Connecticut (Bombardier press release, 23 October 2026).
• Bombardier's new service facility at Fort Wayne International Airport, Indiana, is an approximately 64,500-square-foot facility that will accommodate up to six aircraft and offer scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, modifications, avionics installations and AOG support; it is scheduled to open in November 2026, and Bombardier will also launch new footprint expansion projects in Dallas, Texas, and Connecticut (Bombardier press release, 23 October 2026).
• Garmin reported record consolidated revenue of $1.99 billion for the third quarter of 2026 (ended 26 September 2026), a 12% increase compared with the prior-year quarter, and record operating income of $612 million, up 34% (Garmin press release, 28 October 2026).
• Revenue from Garmin's aviation segment increased 5% in the third quarter of 2026, with growth primarily driven by OEM product categories; aviation gross and operating margins were 78% and 26%, resulting in $66 million of operating income (Garmin press release, 28 October 2026).
• Garmin announced the delivery of its 1,000th G1000 integrated flight deck retrofit for King Air aircraft (Garmin press release, 28 October 2026).
• Honeywell Aerospace third-quarter 2026 sales increased 2% year over year to $4,644 million, and backlog grew to $19.3 billion at quarter end, up 12% from the prior year (Honeywell Aerospace press release, 28 October 2026).
• Honeywell Aerospace Commercial Aftermarket sales of $2.1 billion grew 2% year over year in the third quarter of 2026, driven by healthy underlying demand limited by mechanical component availability (Honeywell Aerospace press release, 28 October 2026).
• Honeywell Aerospace raised its second-half 2026 free cash flow guidance to $1.2 billion–$1.4 billion, from a previous range of $1.0 billion–$1.4 billion (Honeywell Aerospace press release, 28 October 2026).
• Embraer's order backlog reached a record US$35.7 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2026, up 3% quarter over quarter and 14% year over year; its Executive Aviation backlog reached a record US$8.2 billion, up 12% year over year, and the division delivered 41 business jets in the quarter (Embraer press release, 23 October 2026).
• During the first nine months of 2026, IADA Accredited Dealers completed 1,155 aircraft transactions compared to the 983 transactions reported during the same period in 2025. Third-quarter transactions totaled 409, compared with 367 during the third quarter of last year.
• IADA's buyer-seller market index declined to 2.65 in the third quarter, compared with 2.74 in the second quarter and 3.16 a year earlier. Measured on a five-point scale, with 1 favoring sellers and 5 favoring buyers, the latest reading represents the strongest seller advantage in almost three years.

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