Air France Flight AF2184 departed Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) at 0653 on March 24, 2012, bound for Tunis-Carthage International Airport (TUN). The captain was the pilot flying (PF) and the copilot was the pilot monitoring (PM). Departure, climb and cruise phases for the Airbus A319 were routine and without incident. However, the arrival at Tunis almost ended tragically due to a hurried descent, a runway change, poor planning and a lack of basic CRM.
Business jet apartheid remained the dominant theme in 2013, as it has for the last five years since the world economy struggles to recover from its deepest downturn in eight decades. Most long-range, large-cabin business aircraft manufacturers flourished while most light and midsize jet makers floundered. Total jet deliveries stabilized at 678, essentially in line with deliveries a decade ago, according to GAMA statistics.
China’s unique combination of prosperity and geography has resulted in an aircraft market that continues to focus on heavy iron that can connect China to any other spot on the planet non-stop. And, to the great relief of aircraft manufacturers, this market prefers to buy new aircraft.
As if the decision to buy an aircraft was not challenging enough, the next million-dollar question (sometimes quite literally) is where to register the thing. Offshore, or “island” aircraft registries offer owners an extensive list of options and perks from possible tax savings to catch-phrase tail “numbers,” which we’ll delineate here.
Daniel Herr, an aviation attorney based in Murray Hill, N.J., advises clients on the advantages and limitations of fractional ownership. (He can be accessed at http://www.FractionalLaw.com) B&CA asked him how Avantair managed to survive the economic downturn of 2008, only to plunge into the financial problems that led to its internal breakdown and ultimately to bankruptcy.
William Quinn, president of Aviation Management Systems in Portsmouth, N.H., has long consulted on fractional ownership issues and helped place clients into the Avantair program as shareowners when the program was solvent. When the company brought in retired FAA upper-level managers to help sort out its problems, “we were concerned but didn’t know how serious the situation was and where it would end up,” Quinn told B&CA.
In a Nov. 13, 2012, email, Avantair President and founder Steve Santo attempted to reassure the troubled fractional ownership program’s 600-plus shareholders that the company was being proactive when it voluntarily grounded its fleet of 56 Piaggio P180 Avanti turboprops the previous month.
Executive AirShare, Kansas City, Mo., promoted Daniel Ireson to assistant chief pilot. He is based at Fort Worth Meacham Airport and Love Field in Dallas and reports to Chief Pilot Alex Franz.
Universal Avionics, Tucson, Ariz., named Chris Cannady OEM sales manager responsible for developing and maintaining the company's products to original equipment manufacturers in the U.S.
Dassault has named CAE as its approved training provider for the Falcon 5X jet, now under development. The selection covers pilot, maintenance and cabin crew training. Nick Leontidis, CAE Group President, Civil Simulation Products, Training and Services, says his company “will be ready for training with a complete training program, including the deployment of two full-flight simulators, to support entry-to-service of the 5X.” The location of the first 5X simulators has yet to be determined, but CAE says it plans additional deployments as the Falcon 5X fleet grows
RUAG Aviation and YASAVA are collaborating to deliver the innovative Astral design concept for long-range, large-cabin business jets such as Dassault Falcon 7Xs, Bombardier Globals and the Embraer Lineage 1000s. Some unique features include a dedicated VIP zone that has a day lounge that converts into a private bedroom with a double bed; a redesigned lav with a full shower. The VIP area for the Global features four 16-g, electrically articulating and swiveling Aiana seats that converts into a full-flat 2-meter bed.
Implicit in human achievement from the moment our ancestors climbed down from the trees to stand upright in the tall grass of the savannah has been the Law of Unintended Consequences. It works like this: Leave the arboreal sanctuary for the foraging temptations of the plains, and you increase your vulnerability to predation, perhaps winding up as some larger creature's lunch — and possibly leading to extinction of your species.
National Business Aviation Association, Washington, elected Jim Schwertner to the board of directors. He is president and CEO of Schwertner Farms, Inc.
Blackhawk Modifications, Inc., of Waco, Texas and Wipaire, Inc., of South St. Paul, Minn., received FAA approval of the Blackhawk XP42A engine upgrade for operators of Cessna Models 208 and 208A Caravans on Wipline floats. Approval enables operators of these aircraft to install a new 850- hp P&W PT6A-42A turboprop engine in place of the standard 600-hp PT6A-114 or the 675-hp PT6A-114A installed in these two models.
After three consecutive quarterly losses, late 2013 certifications of its new Sovereign+ and M2 helped Cessna Aircraft finish the year with a $33 million fourth-quarter profit — $10 million better than the same quarter in 2012 — and position the company for a 19% growth in revenues in 2014. However, the Wichita planemaker posted an overall $48 million loss on the year, down from the $82 million profit in 2012. Revenues slid from $3.11 billion in 2012 to $2.78 billion in 2013.
There now are more than 50 Gulfstream G650 jets in service, an impressively large number of new aircraft deliveries for just over one year of production. Operators say the airframe, engines and basic systems have been remarkably trouble free, resulting in near flawless dispatch reliability. That's an impressive milestone as the G650 is the first completely clean-sheet Gulfstream since the 1967-vintage GII, doubly so because of the reliability of early serial number airplanes.
When a modern swept-wing aircraft is properly maintained within its certification limits, it is safe. Operating outside of the certification limits or not maintaining the aircraft to its airworthiness specifications can carry a steep price in the high-altitude environment.
Luxembourg-based Luxaviation has acquired Unijet, a leading French business aviation operator, through its Belgian subsidiary, Abelag. Based at Le Bourget in Paris, Unijet provides the group access to Europe's foremost business aviation airport. With the acquisition, the new group increases its staff to 350 employees and its fleet to 60 business aircraft based in Benelux, Germany and France.
The PC-12 you flew in “Finnoff PC-12 Upgrade” is based at Boulder Municipal Airport in Colorado, not California; and Boulder City Airport is in Nevada. Boulder, Colo.
John Leahy is not satisfied with the status quo of ACJ activity and wants to change that. The COO-Customers at Airbus, Leahy recently told reporters that the European manufacturer is making a renewed effort to revitalize Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ) sales to take a bigger share of the VIP market away from archrival Boeing. “If we look at Corporate Jets to BBJs, it looks like about an equal split there,” he said speaking of 2013 results, “but it won't be quite the same on a net basis.” He continued, “On our corporate jet program, it switches around.
