Regional-airline enplanements will double to nearly 126 million by 2008, according to a forecast prepared for the Regional Airline Association. "Strong industry fundamentals, including sustained increases in available seat miles, average passenger trip length and onboard load factor are all expected to fuel industry growth over the next decade," concluded AvStat Associates of Washington, D.C. and the Stanford Transportation Group (STG) of San Francisco, which prepared the forecast.
Winnipeg, Canada-based Standard Aero recently serviced its 1,000th PW100 engine (a milestone achieved in eight years) and received ISO 9001 quality management certification
A state bill that would eliminate the sales tax on aircraft purchases, repairs and replacement parts in Massachusetts has advanced to the House Ways and Means Committee. The proposed legislation, introduced by Representative Cele Hahn (R-Westfield, Mass.), applies to airplanes with an MTOW of 6,000 pounds or more. Connecticut adopted similar legislation in October 1997.
A VHF datalink air/ground communication service was proclaimed operational throughout China by ARINC's GlobaLink and its Asian partners. The service is provided to appropriately equipped and approved airliners and corporate aircraft from ground stations throughout the country, and is controlled from Beijing. Twenty-five of a planned 125 stations are now operating to deliver ATC and company message traffic (February, page 30).
The FAA House Reauthorization Bill now includes a provision drafted by Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) that would allow certain airports to deny access to scheduled public charter operations. The amendment's language buttresses the position of Colorado citizens who are agitated over the specter of scheduled passenger service at Denver's Centennial Airport (June, page 24). Gil Wolin, president of Centennial-based FBO Mayo Aviation, says the amendment would not affect FAR Part 135 charter operators.
Insurers say operators can expect to pay about the same for their liability coverage in 1999 or maybe even five or 10 percent less than they did this year. Why? Because business aviation's excellent safety record is working in favor of FAR Part 91 and Part 135 turbine aircraft operators seeking liability and hull insurance renewals. (For instance, in 1997, there were no fatal U.S. accidents involving business jets operating under Part 91.)
Of late, aviation trade associations and some of the business aircraft manufacturers have given us a number of fact-filled, eye-catching tomes for the coffee table. Now those curious about aircraft engines can get their itch scratched by adding the story of Allison engines to their libraries. Allison, the People and the Power, by Joan Zigmunt, is a pictorial history of Allison, decade by decade.
Corporate aircraft utilizing European airspace are being racked by new avionics and flight restrictions, but none seems so ominous as upcoming reduced vertical separation minima (RVSM) requirements. Come November 1, 2001, vertical separation over the 31 member states of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) is scheduled to be reduced to 1,000 feet from as low as FL 290 in France to FL 410. What worries the business aviation community is not the reduction itself, but the equipment and certification requirements that go with it.
Over 200 delegates attended the Inmarsat Aeronautical Services Users Conference held in London from June 3-5. While the greater part of the content concentrated on the progress made by airliner-based Aero-H systems, there was news on the introduction of new spot-beam services-Aero-I for business aircraft and the enhanced Aero-H+ service-made available by the launch of Inmarsat-3 satellites.
Authorities for Cote D'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) continue their investigation of why a King Air 200 chartered by the United Nations crashed on approach to Lome-Abidjan Airport. The June accident was fatal to all seven persons aboard. The aircraft (S/N BB 815), was registered as ZS-MSL (South Africa). No further information was available at press time.
David A. Wyss, Chief Economist, Standard&Poor's DRI
Corporate aviation is flying one of the longest economic booms in history. The economy is in the best condition since the 1960s, as this 90-month expansion nears the length of the 1980s upturn, the second-longest in postwar history, and takes aim at the 106-month boom of the 1960s. Despite the headwinds from Asia, the economy should break the 1960s' record in February 2000.
The FBO chain has announced two staff changes: At the headquarters office, Gary Boekenkamp came aboard as the new senior vice president of marketing. He left a similar role at Dallas Airmotive, Signature's sister company. At Signature's Chicago O'Hare location, Paul Shira was named the new general manager.
Many recent, highly publicized aviation accidents have begged easy solution. Today-two years after the event-investigators continue to sort TWA Flight 800 wire bundles in Long Island looking for a culprit, and specialists in Washington continue to puzzle over air carrier upset accidents such as those at Colorado Springs and Pittsburgh. The lay media make much of these mysteries, and some of these accidents have become grist for conspiracy theorists.
The Aviation Institute at the University of Nebraska at Omaha has developed an aviation distance learning degree program that debuts August 24. Using the Internet, students will be able to earn a bachelor of general studies degree with an aviation concentration, intended to help them prepare for management positions. The tuition rate is $78.50 per credit hour. To graduate, students need 125 credit hours. Up to 64 credits can be transferred from community colleges or technical schools. Phone (402) 554-3424 or fax (402) 554-3781 for further information.
Anyone in corporate aviation knows the challenges of modern business: doing more with fewer resources, maximizing efficiency, closely monitoring and measuring performance. And while most people understand the fundamental reasons for the evolution of the industry, often it can feel like a squeeze.
Aerospace Lighting Corp. of Holbrook, N.Y. is the latest business jet cabin equipment supplier to be acquired by B/E Aerospace. The Wellington, Fla.-based firm, a major vendor to the airlines, began a serious expansion into the business jet market earlier this year with the acquisition of Aircraft Modular Products and Puritan-Bennett's Wemac business (May, page 14). "The corporate business jet market has growth rates even higher than our commercial transport product market," said B/E Chairman Amin J. Khoury.
Richard I. Bong Memorial Airport in Superior, Wis. officially welcomed its new 5,100-foot Runway 3/21 on July 3, culminating an almost 10-year struggle to get environmental approval to build a new, longer runway. The opening "also marks the beginning of the airport's important role in the growth of the area's economy," said the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics.
There isn't any short-term leasing going on in the current market," Richard W. Ramsden, manager of national business aircraft finance at Bombardier Capital Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. told B/CA. "You see it when there is excess inventory [in the used market]." Clearly, that is not the current situation.
FlightSafety International simulators for the Cessna CitationJet in San Antonio and for the Learjet 55 in West Palm Beach received FAA Level C certification
Mission Air Support of Roanoke, Va. added the entire Gulfstream I parts inventory from Chrysler Pentastar to its stock of the "top 100" most commonly replaced items for G-Is through G-IVs
