Business & Commercial Aviation

The FAA is proposing a dozen new high-altitude jet routes along the U.S. East Coast as part of a modernization strategy to replace legacy ground-referenced routes with GPS-supported, performance-based navigation routes.

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has delivered its first CRJ200 Special Freighter to Gulf & Caribbean Cargo, its launch customer. The jets are converted from the passenger version by Aeronautical Engineers of Miami.

The FAA has issued new rules that make it easier and cheaper for certain recreational general aviation pilots to gain required medical certifications to fly.

Indicative of the community's growing importance to China, business aircraft operators have joined to form the Beijing Business Aviation Association.

Executive AirShare, the Lenexa, Kansas-based fractional aircraft provider, has moved into hangar and office space at Col. James Jabara Airport in northeast Wichita from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in west Wichita.

Cirrus Aircraft has launched the G6, the latest upgrade of its SR series of single-engine piston aircraft. The new models feature Garmin's Cirrus Perspective+ flight deck.

Italian helicopter maker Leonardo-Finmeccanica is finding eager buyers among the Chinese. The company reports that it has sold more than 180 helicopters of various types to operators there.

Austro Engine GmbH, a division of Diamond Aircraft Group, has reached 1 million flight hours for its AE300 jet fuel aviation engine.

Triumph Aerostructures has initiated litigation against Bombardier to recover $340 million in additional development costs incurred by a redesign of the Global 7000 wing. In response, Bombardier planned to sue Triumph for losses resulting from the program's two-year delay.

JetSuiteX has begun selling seats for charter service to and from Santa Monica, California. Flights begin Feb. 6 to Las Vegas, San Jose and San Diego County airports.

FlightServ, an independent fixed-base operation, opened Jan. 1 at the Trenton-Mercer Airport in New Jersey. The FBO was founded by a team from its sister company, Aviation Charters.

It looks like the gap in Embraer's business jet lineup—an entry in the ultra-long-range category—will not be filled any time soon. Speaking to an editorial roundtable of Aviation Week Network editors in Washington in December, Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, president and CEO of the Brazilian aircraft maker, said a recent assessment of the marketplace revealed that the Legacy 450 and 500 “can cover 98.5% of the business jet missions in the world.

Textron Aviation is incorporating Garmin's upgraded G1000 NXi integrated flight deck into its piston product line, including the Cessna Skyhawk 172, Skylane 182, Turbo Stationair HDT206, Beechcraft Bonanza G36 and Beechcraft Baron G58.

Air Methods Corp. has acquired three Airbus H145 helicopters for hospital-based air medical transport, to replace older aircraft now in service.

AirFlyte has changed its name to Rectrix MRO. The rebranding stems from the 2013 acquisition of AirFlyte by Rectrix and reflects the company's corporate MRO services and presents a united brand.

Astronics Max-Viz, a division of Astronics Corp., was awarded certification for its Max-Viz 1200 Enhanced Vision System for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.

With more than 400 letters of intent in hand for its new Model 505 Jet Ranger X, Bell Helicopter is working fast to convert those into purchase orders, after the five-seater was awarded type certification by Transport Canada in late December.

Tamarack Aerospace has received an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate for its active winglet system for Cessna CJ series jets.

Jet-A and avgas per-gallon fuel prices—January 2017

328 Support Services GmbH and Duncan Aviation have partnered to deliver and certify a full cabin completion on a Bombardier Challenger 604.

Dassault Aviation netted orders for just 21 Falcons in 2016, further confirming a sluggish business jet market.

LifePort, a Sikorsky company, has received FAA airworthiness certification for its Patient Loading Utility System for Pilatus PC-12/47 and PC-12/47E aircraft.

UK-based BBA Aviation and Gama Aviation have joined their U.S. aircraft management and charter businesses, with a combined fleet of 200 aircraft.

In December, FAA issued its final rule on the new Part 23 which is intended to reduce the time and cost to certificate aircraft under 19,000 lb.

On Jan. 10, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving Flytenow, an online flight-sharing service that wanted the high court to overturn lower court decisions that supported FAA's prohibition of the activity.