Legendary Jets , Tempe, Ariz., announced the hiring of Shad English as vice president of Sales with responsibility for the development and advancement of the firm’s GO JET card program as well as sales of full and fractional jet ownership programs.
Omniflight Helicopters, Inc. announced Sept. 22 that it had acquired Savannah, Ga.-based LifeStarOne, which has been the leading provider of air medical transport services to southern and southeast Georgia. Omniflight has served as operator for LifeStarOne since the program’s inception more than 23 years ago and will continue to operate one BK-117 helicopter under the LifeStar name. LifeStar personnel will be retained by Omniflight, which operates 100 aircraft nationally from 73 bases in 19 states, with a strong presence across the Southwest, Midwest and Southeast U.S.
FlairJet, another new private jet charter operator, plans to launch U.K. operations from Oxford Airport in May 2009, initially flying two leased Embraer Phenom 100s. The company’s backers also have further lease options for 2010 delivery. FlairJet’s first owned aircraft arrives in 2012. FlairJet is being headed by Monarch Airlines’ Airbus A320 Capt. David Fletcher, who is planning a route network of charter services with the four-seat jets. FlairJet’s Phenom 100s have a range of 1,160 nm (with reserves) enabling easy reach to cities in mainland Europe, domestic U.K.
CAE , Montreal, has appointed Sebastien Caire as vice president, Asia and Australasia and Suzanne Roy was named vice president, India. Bill Dolny has been named vice president and general manager of CAE’s Dallas training center; Michael Fedele is the new vice president and general manager of the Morristown, N.J. center. Dolny and Fedele will report to Tom Stelter, who was named vice president, CAE Training, Service and Innovation, North America.
Based on Rockwell Collins’ Pro Line Fusion avionics, the G250’s new cockpit will feature one of Gulfstream’s most advanced versions of its signature PlaneView cockpit design. The standard package will include three, 15-inch flat-panel displays in the instrument panel, dual multi-function CDUs in the center console, glareshield-mounted standby multifunction controllers adapted from the G650 and a new flight guidance control panel and side-ledge-mounted handgrip cursor control devices.
Last month’s NBAA Convention in Orlando was a grandiose display of technology and service, as expected, but this year’s gathering was underscored by collective concern. Exhibitors were constantly checking their BlackBerries for the latest awful news from Wall Street. Reporters lunching in the pressroom stared open mouthed at the flat-screen screamings streaming from CNN’s financial desk. Every conversation, handshake and demonstration seemed sprinkled or doused with anxiety.
Embraer , Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, announced the following changes in the company’s organizational structure effective Jan. 1, 2009: Retiring Antonio Luiz Pizarro Manso, executive vice president, Finance and CFO, and Satoshi Yokota, executive vice president, Strategic Planning and Technology Development, will be succeeded, respectively, by Luiz Carlos Siqueira Aguiar and Emilio Kazunoli Matsuo, members of Embraer’s senior management team.
Jet Support Services, Inc. , Chicago, named Joe Hagin as its CEO. A former executive at Federated Department Stores and Chiquita Brands, Hagin most recently served as deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush.
Cessna has chalked up more than 900 orders for its Citation 560XL-series midsize jets in the last 14 years, making it the all-time best-seller in this class. That’s an impressive benchmark considering that the XL’s airframe started life as a quick-to-market hybrid of the Citation III fuselage barrel and a modified, scaled-up Citation V wing. Clean-sheet purists scoffed at its humble origins, but they shuddered when it became a runaway best-seller 24 hours after it was announced at the 1994 NBAA Convention.
AMSTAT is offering several significant upgrades to its AMSTAT Premier Service. Users can now view and download FAA documents associated with a particular aircraft — such as Bills of Sales, Lease Agreements and Security Agreements — from within the Premier application. Customers also will have access to information regarding the FAR Part 135 charter certificate holder for applicable aircraft. AMSTAT eAlerts is a new service that enables AMSTAT Premier subscribers to receive real-time e-mail or text messages regarding critical market activity.
DB Aviation, Inc. , Waukegan, Ill., announced Jason Shook and Jeff Konz have been promoted to managing directors; Granville Horton and Michael Aiken have been promoted to assistant managers, FBO; Michelle Gold was promoted to senior customer service representative; and Tehmina Jauhar has joined the DB Aviation Client Enrollment team as managing director.
International Communications Group (ICG) has begun production of its new NxtLink 120A and 220A Iridium communications systems. Both systems now support Future Air Navigation System (FANS) and Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) was well as Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) requirements. The NxtLink 120A is designed for use on the flight deck while the 220A serves both the flight deck and the crew.
Calling recent delivery forecasts (see page 13) outdated the day they were published, Brian Foley Associates (BRiFO) asserts that the future will not be as rosy as those others predict. “If they haven’t already, new aircraft orders are poised to fall off a cliff,” Foley warned, “The record order books will not be as firm as OEMs would like to think, and we’re warning our clients to expect double-digit percentage order cancellations depending on the manufacturer.
Embraer , Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, announced the following changes in the company’s organizational structure effective Jan. 1, 2009: Retiring Antonio Luiz Pizarro Manso, executive vice president, Finance and CFO, and Satoshi Yokota, executive vice president, Strategic Planning and Technology Development, will be succeeded, respectively, by Luiz Carlos Siqueira Aguiar and Emilio Kazunoli Matsuo, members of Embraer’s senior management team.
There was a “wall breaking” ceremony Oct. 15 at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va. Behind the wall is the facility’s final wing, dedicated to the behind-the-scenes care of the Smithsonian’s extraordinary collection of aircraft, spacecraft and related artifacts. The new facility will allow visitors a firsthand look at the process of restoring aircraft and spacecraft.
First I would like to congratulate you on your 50 years of publishing excellence and I am looking forward to an additional 50! Reading the article titled “Help Wanted” (September, page 34) and after reading Gary Dugan’s (not his real name) statements I could not go without trying to get my frustration heard.
WAEA , McLean, Va., announced that Christine Ringer, inflight entertainment system engineer and project manager for Swiss International Air Lines, was elected president of the World Airline Entertainment Association for the 2008-2009 term.
Two programs designed to convert Canadair Regional Jets into long-range corporate aircraft are marching toward milestones. The first delivery of the Hemisphere 200XR, a conversion of the CRJ-200 promoted by Tailwind Capital LLC and Global Principal Finance Co., is expected to take place this month. The first aircraft, which is being converted by PATS Aircraft of Georgetown, Del., is scheduled to be displayed at the Middle East Business Aviation show this month in Dubai.
Iridium Holdings, which operates the global satellite communication network that’s gobbling up market share, announced Sept. 23 that it planned to combine with GHL Acquisition Corp., a special purpose company sponsored by Greenhill & Co. The newly combined entity will be named Iridium Communications Inc. Iridium says the move will make it debt free and in a good position to fund development of NEXT, its next-generation satellites. Iridium currently lists more than 305,000 subscribers and regards business aviation as one of the keystones of its customer base.
The turmoil gripping financial markets will have little long-term impact on demand for business jets, according to several forecasts, particularly those of Honeywell and Forecast International, which are widely viewed as barometers of the industry’s health. The general consistency of their positive growth numbers is notable. But the nagging question remains whether a market driven by corporate profits can really fly around the economic storm that rages even as we go to press.
Legendary Jets , Tempe, Ariz., announced the hiring of Shad English as vice president of Sales with responsibility for the development and advancement of the firm’s GO JET card program as well as sales of full and fractional jet ownership programs.
