The situation was clearly illustrated in Dassault’s latest update on the market situation, released last week. The aircraft maker suffered a huge number of cancellations, with a net loss of 98 orders for the year. The company had a positive order intake of 92 units in 2008, and 203 Falcons were ordered in the prior year. Some late cancellations in 2009 also left the company stranded with some white tails, including a few of the flagship Falcon 7Xs.

On top of that, Dassault is the latest of several producers to report large cancellations from NetJets, the giant U.S. fractional ownership business which suffered a $711-million loss last year. All order book positions after 2014—a total of 65 units—have been canceled.

Hawker Beechcraft also suffered a 55% drop in its order book last year, largely owing to NetJets cancellations, and Cessna Aircraft saw its backlog drop 66% last year as well.

But Dassault officials signal they are not overly concerned by the actions NetJets has taken. The orders are expected to return once the business aviation markets rebound, company officials say, citing positive feedback received from NetJets’ new chief executive, David Sokol, who has focused on reducing his company’s debt exposure and positioned it to become profitable again in 2010.