KEVIN FARLEY has been named director of marketing for Flexjet. Farley has served in sales, marketing and business development executive roles, including national marketing manager at Comair Holdings and director of sales and marketing at Midwest Airlines. In his new position, he will be responsible for directing all aspects of marketing personnel and function, including the development, implementation and evaluation of marketing plans and communication strategies to further strengthen Flexjet’s market position and brand recognition.
NetJets Inc., Berkshire Hathaway’s fractional jet provider, has agreed to buy Marquis Jet, which sells so-called “jet cards” whose buyers get to use NetJets aircraft for a fixed number of hours, the company announced last week. Under the terms of the agreement, Marquis Jet becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of NetJets. No additional details were disclosed. According to NetJets Chairman and CEO David Sokol, the acquisition should yield meaningful cost benefits and more competitive pricing.
CAE has signed an agreement with Hangar 8 to provide training on eight types of aircraft, including Hawker Beechcraft, Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault Falcon and Embraer types. Hawker training will be done at the Emirates-CAE facility in Dubai. Other training will take place at Burgess Hill near London or at CAE’s SimuFlite facility in Dallas.
World Fuel Services Corporation and ExxonMobil Aviation have partnered to launch the Avitat Premier Card program. This new affinity card can be used to obtain discounted fuel and aviation-related services at participating Exxon and ExxonMobil Aviation-branded Avitat FBO locations throughout the U.S. and the Bahamas.
The National Air Transportation Association’s (NATA) Safety 1st program has released an online De/Anti-icing Training Module to complement its Professional Line Service Training online training. NATA’s Safety 1st De/Anti-icing module is designed specifically for the general aviation industry to familiarize line service specialists with the responsibilities of their job and give an overview of the skills necessary for safe aircraft departures in winter weather.
The congressional landscape will change for the general aviation community, with the Republicans taking over the House and the loss of several key committee chairmen —including Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.). But National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen notes that general aviation has been a “nonpartisan” industry over the years that has navigated numerous power shifts.
Ruag Aviation has received European Aviation Safety Agency supplemental type certification (STC) for installation of the navAero tBag C22 electronic flight bag (EFB) system on a Bombardier Challenger 601. Ruag completed the STC under its designation organization authorization certification. The STC covers dual installation of the EFB system with cross-CPU Ethernet connections and ARINC 429 connectivity.
West Star Aviation’s facility in Grand Junction, Colo. (GJT) was appointed as an authorized service center for Hawker Beechcraft. The authorization covers Beechcraft King Air, Baron and Bonanza models. The agreement enables West Star to provide complete airframe and engine services, as well as process warranty claims.
Bombardier has established customer delivery teams that will assist with the entry-into-service for its business aircraft. The teams will be provided for customers of new Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft and will comprise Bombardier avionics technicians and cabin interior experts, as well as Bombardier-trained, third-party maintenance specialists.
Piper Aircraft, which last month unveiled its newly dubbed, revamped Altaire single-engine jet (BA, Oct. 25/5), is hoping to build on interest with its “Altaire Advance” step-up program. Under the program, buyers of any new “M-Class” Piper airplane—either the Meridian, Mirage or Matrix—would receive a discount toward the purchase price of the Altaire or could defer a portion of the initial deposit required, depending on the airplane.
Flexjet has become the first fractional jet ownership company to achieve the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s Industry Audit Standard (IAS) registration. The IAS entails a thorough review of a company’s compliance with safety and security regulations, as well as its development and implementation of a safety management system. The Air Charter Safety Foundation’s audit program specifically evaluates compliance with the Federal Aviation Regulations for both Part 135 and Part 91, subpart K.
ANTONIO REGILLO was appointed sales manager, Canada for Bombardier Business Aircraft. Regillo has served with Bombardier since 2002, initially as a liaison engineer and then as a sales engineer. He was promoted to sales account representative for Europe and Africa in 2006 and later was named team lead for international sales support. He will be based in Montreal, working with Peter Likoray.
PIAGGIO P-180 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0734 Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-036-AD; Amendment 39-16474; AD 2010-21-14] – Install Hi-Lok fasteners in place of rivets on the joint brackets on the right-hand and left-hand beam, per the instructions of Piaggio Mandatory Service Bulletin 80-0268, Rev. 0 (dated Dec. 18, 2008). This AD, which was prompted by an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency, is intended to correct a manufacturing error in which some rivets were not installed in the joints between two ceiling beams and the rear pressurized bulkhead.
The National Aeronautics Association and Federation Aeronautique International have confirmed a speed record established by a Bombardier Learjet 60 XR aircraft between Wichita, Kan., and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The aircraft completed the flight on Aug. 8 with one stop in Cali, Colombia, in 11 hr., 58 min. The aircraft departed Wichita with two crew and four passengers, cruising at 428 kt. true airspeed at Flight Level (FL) 370, climbing to FL430. The crew stopped for 25 min. in Cali. The record is the seventh for the Learjet 60 series.
U.K.-based business aircraft management and charter group Gama Aviation has added a Learjet 60XR to its aircraft operator’s certificate. The plane, previously operated privately with Gama Aviation on the Bermuda Registry, is now available for third-party charter from its European base. The 60XR boosts Gama’s core U.K. charter fleet to 10, joining two Hawker 800s (one B, one XP series), a Hawker 1000, a Gulfstream 550 (with an interior designed by Linley), two Learjet 45s, one Beechcraft 200 Super King Air and two Challenger 604s.
Although the ultimate location of Hawker Beechcraft’s operations is uncertain, company Chairman and CEO Bill Boisture is offering some encouragement that plans include a future in Wichita. In an Oct. 22 letter to employees, Boisture laid out recent downsizing actions underway, including the most recent loss of 350 employees and a total planned reduction of 800 workers, plant closings and outsourcing plans.
Embraer President and CEO Frederico Fleury Curado believes that the ultra-long-range business jet segment “will be the most promising and most profitable” in the future, but says Embraer has made no decisions about jumping into the fray. Speaking to the Aero Club of Washington last week, Curado noted that segment is built on brand recognition and reputation, adding, “we think that at this high end, [branding] is absolutely a key issue.
In a clear demonstration of the ying and yang of aircraft manufacturing, Piper Aircraft was set to conduct an engineering job fair last weekend – in Wichita, Kan. It touted the event on a billboard adjacent to West Kellogg, a main thoroughfare through the center of “The Air Capital of the World.”
Garmin International, which has helped revolutionize the cockpit of small aircraft with its flat-screen flight displays and GPS technologies, is setting its sights on larger business jets with the development of the G5000 integrated flight deck for Part 25 aircraft.
BAE Systems has placed two more Avro Business Jets (ABJ) in service with operators in Europe and Latin America, bringing the number of ABJs in service or under conversion worldwide to 27. In Europe, Casino Rodos is using its ABJ to carry clients from mainland Europe to and from the casino that is based on the Greek island of Rhodes. In Bolivia, Minera San Cristobal SA will use its BAe 146-200 to support mining operations in Potosi, 500 km. south of the capital La Paz.
ITT Corp. and Nexa Capital Partners are taking the lead in setting up a NextGen Equipage fund that essentially lets aerospace companies take on most of the risk that airlines will face in purchasing technology required for NextGen. The fund is designed to provide a private-sector answer to the aircraft equipage dilemma that is proving to be one of the major obstacles in the NextGen program.
Lufthansa Private Jet has announced plans to expand into the U.S. next year and is evaluating potential partners to operate business jets as an extension of its first-class airline service. “We are looking into it very deeply, but it is too early to announce anything,” says Sabine Dörflinger, director of global premium customer management at Lufthansa. “We plan to be there next year.”
CAE has teamed with APS Emergency Maneuver Training to offer an online computer-based training course designed to help business jet pilots to recognize, avoid and recover from loss of control while inflight. The CAE-APS upset recovery course is based on FAA recommendations contained in the Airplane Upset Recovery Training Aid, Revision 2. “Aircraft upset is not a common occurrence, and the overwhelming majority of flights proceed without incident, thanks to modern aircraft technology and training,” says Lou Nemeth, CAE’s chief safety officer.
Bombardier Aerospace has added three aircraft-on-ground (AOG) line maintenance facilities (LMF). The new LMFs are located in Kuala Lumpur; Monterrey, Mexico; and Riga, Latvia. Bombardier’s worldwide service and maintenance support network includes 60 service centers, authorized service facilities and AOG LMFs. In Kuala Lumpur, ExecuJet Malaysia will handle Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft. The facility is the first Bombardier LMF in Malaysia. Mexico’s Aerovitro S.A. was named an AOG LMF for Bombardier Challenger and Global aircraft.
ABS Jets has begun construction on a new hangar at Prague Ruzyně Airport. The 6,000-sq.-meter facility will triple ABS Jets’ available hanger capacity. “Hanger space in the new facilities, preconstruction, is already 50% sold,” says Radomír Šaňák, ABS Jets commercial director and director of ground operations. ABS currently has 11 planes in its fleet, having added one plane a year since 2004. The additional space will enable the firm to add more aircraft, in addition to increasing ground support and improving handling services.
