Aviation International News' annual Product Support Survey has, for more than three decades, served as one of the most closely watched barometers of how original equipment manufacturers actually perform once an aircraft leaves the factory floor. The 2026 edition, focused specifically on aircraft OEMs, continues that tradition by polling owners and operators of business jets and turboprops on the metrics that matter most in day-to-day operations: AOG (aircraft-on-ground) responsiveness, technical representative availability, parts pricing and availability, warranty fulfillment, publications quality, and overall satisfaction with factory and authorized service center support. Manufacturers such as Textron Aviation, Bombardier, Gulfstream, Embraer, Dassault Falcon, Pilatus, Daher, and others are typically ranked across these categories, with results segmented by aircraft type and fleet size to account for the different support realities facing light single-engine turboprop owners versus large-cabin flight departments.
For working pilots and flight department managers, this survey carries outsized practical weight because it aggregates firsthand operator experience into a comparative dataset that is otherwise difficult to obtain before a purchase or contract decision. A chief pilot evaluating a fleet transition, or a director of maintenance weighing whether to renew a parts program, relies on exactly this kind of peer-sourced intelligence to anticipate how quickly a manufacturer will get a grounded aircraft flying again, whether technical publications are current and usable, and whether service centers are adequately staffed and stocked. In an environment where dispatch reliability and AOG turnaround directly affect mission completion and cost of ownership, product support quality can matter as much as the aircraft's own performance specifications.
The timing of the survey also reflects broader pressures reshaping the aftermarket support landscape across business and general aviation. OEMs have faced persistent supply chain disruption, parts backlogs, and workforce shortages in maintenance and technical support roles since the pandemic, and many operators continue to report longer lead times for components and less availability of factory technical reps than in years past. At the same time, record business jet and turboprop deliveries in recent years have expanded in-service fleets faster than some manufacturers' support infrastructure has scaled, creating strain on service centers and spare parts inventories industry-wide. Surveys like this one give manufacturers a public, competitive incentive to invest in support networks, and they give operators leverage in negotiating service agreements.
More broadly, the AIN survey fits into a growing emphasis across commercial, business, and general aviation on total cost of ownership and operational reliability rather than acquisition price alone. As fractional programs, charter operators, and corporate flight departments increasingly scrutinize dispatch reliability and downtime costs, product support rankings feed directly into fleet-planning and RFP decisions. Manufacturers that consistently score well tend to leverage those results in marketing and sales campaigns, while those that lag often use the findings internally to justify investment in parts distribution, digital diagnostics, and expanded MRO networks. For pilots and operators alike, the survey remains a valuable, if informal, checkpoint on how well the industry's promise of "we'll be there when you need us" holds up in practice.