Bombardier officials point to activity at the most recent European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva as an indicator that the business jet market is stabilizing. Guy Hachey, president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Aerospace, told analysts that the 2009 EBACE could have been called “the cancellation show. Our customers would come in and basically want to renegotiate their terms, cancel, defer or restructure the deal.” This year, he says, there were no cancellations.
Abu Dhabi-based business jet operator Royal Jet has launched a “100 Club” to attract companies that travel less frequently. The new 100 Club card provides companies discounts of up to 9%, but also offers rewards for more frequent travel.
MARIJANA O’DWYER was named head of commercial for Aviatrax S.A., a Luxembourg-based aviation consultancy that provides aircraft acquisition, financing, crew and operation support for business and commercial aviation. O’Dwyer joined Aviatrax after serving as head of marketing and administration for Dubrovnik Airport, Croatia.
BRENT MOLDOWAN has joined ACM Aviation as vice president of owner services. Moldowan has more than 15 years of aviation industry experience. He will be responsible for building operations at ACM’s newly opened Denver office.
TURBOMECA Arriel 1B, 1D, 1D1 and 1S1 engines [Docket No. FAA-2005-21242; Directorate Identifier 2005-NE-09-AD; Amendment 39-16288; AD 2010-10-09] – Lower the initial and repetitive thresholds for replacement of second-stage turbines. This new AD supersedes an existing directive (AD 2008-07-01) that requires initial and repetitive relative position checks of the gas generator second-stage turbine blades and initial and repetitive replacements of second-stage turbines on certain powerplants.
Two Honeywell TPE331 turboprop engines that flew through the ash cloud generated by Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano are scheduled to arrive at the manufacturer this week for teardown and inspections. The engines that power a Dornier 228 research aircraft operated by the National Environmental Research Council’s Airborne Research and Survey Facility in the U.K. logged 10 hours in the cloud and 22 hours on its periphery.
EMBRAER EMB-135BJ, -ER, -KE, -KL and –LR; and EMB-145, -145ER, -MR, -LR, -XR, -MP and -EP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0132; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-081-AD; Amendment 39-16306; AD 2010-11-01] – Revise the “Airworthiness Limitations” section of the “Instructions for Continued Airworthiness” to incorporate new structural inspection requirements.
Summit Aviation plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony on a 78,000-square-foot expansion of its Middleton, Del., facility. The expansion will include a new hangar, paint facility, cold storage units and support and office space. The new 37,400-square-foot hangar would be capable of holding three Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey aircraft. The expansion comes as the facility just completed $2.5 million in upgrades for additional corporate and general aviation capacity. The latest expansion is slated to be complete in second quarter of 2011.
Conklin & de Decker Associates and the National Air Transportation Association are co-hosting their Commercial Operators Tax Seminar Aug. 17-18 in Indianapolis, Ind. The seminar is designed for commercial operators and addresses tax issues affecting aircraft charter and management. The seminar will cover tax responsibilities, tax collection, costs of placing aircraft on a Part 135 certificate, like-kind exchanges and the impact of FAA Operations Specification A008. The seminar costs $795 for registration before Aug. 1 and $995 after that date.
Bombardier executives last week were encouraged by slowing business jet cancellations, despite a sluggish first quarter that saw revenues and earnings slide. Bombardier Aerospace took in $1.9 billion in revenues in the company’s fiscal first quarter that ended April 30, down from $2.2 billion from a year earlier. Earnings before income and taxes (EBIT), meanwhile, dipped from $110 million (or 5%) in the first quarter a year ago to $89 million (or 4.6%) this year.
BOMBARDIER Regional Jet Series 100 and 440 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0525; Directorate Identifier 2009-NM-027-AD; Amendment 39-16275; AD 2010-09-10] – Replace the existing overwing emergency exit placards with new, corrected placards in accordance with the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 601R-11-088, Rev. B (dated Nov. 17, 2009). This new AD, which supersedes an existing directive (AD 2003-04-21), was issued as a result of an MCAI originated by an aviation authority of another country.
Gulfstream’s G650 certification program is continuing to gain momentum with a third test aircraft joining the flight trials and already accumulating 10 hours, the Savannah, Ga., airframer announced last week. S/N 6003 will be used to measure aerodynamic loads and test the ice-protection performance. In addition, the aircraft is the test bed for the G650 avionics, including the PlaneView cockpit, Gulfstream says.
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt last week strongly endorsed voluntary reporting, saying, “After having experience on both sides of the table, I am convinced that the voluntary reporting systems are the only tools we have that will allow us to step safety up to the next level.” Speaking June 2 in San Diego, Babbitt said, “A just safety culture demands” that people speak up when they see potential safety issues and that they do it without fear of reprisal.
Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., has partnered with Bristow Academy Inc. in Titusville, Fla., to offer a combined university aviation education and helicopter flight training program beginning this fall. The program will be tailored to students seeking careers as professional pilots in the helicopter industry. The program will offer a four-year university degree and ratings as a commercial and instrument helicopter pilot.
While competitor NetJets continues to shore up its operations to control costs, Bombardier’s Flexjet fractional ownership operation was able to remain profitable in the first quarter, says Bombardier President and CEO Pierre Beaudoin. He believes operating a simpler fleet has helped Flexjet, saying the unit can be more efficient. At the same time, Beaudoin says the company is seeing increases in fractional and jet card sales.
Business aviation manufacturers developing new models are poised to fare better during and after the economic turmoil, says JP Morgan analyst Joseph Nadol. “A number of new product launches remain in the pipeline across segments, especially in the very light jet and midsize portions of the market,” he writes in JP Morgan’s most recent Business Jet Monthly report. But Nadol also cautions that the economy could continue to take its toll.
FAA has proposed a rule that would prohibit U.S. civil flight operations below Flight Level 160 (16,000 ft.) in Afghanistan airspace, unless flights are FAA-authorized. Those affected by the rule would include U.S. air carriers, as well as holders of a U.S. airman certificate and operators of U.S.-registered aircraft, with exceptions. Increased insurgent activity that threatens the safety of U.S. civil aircraft prompted the May 26 proposed rulemaking. The agency notes there have been several reported incidents of aircraft being hit by small arms fire, although no U.S.
Vector Aerospace Engine Services – United Kingdom was granted European Aviation Safety Agency Part 145 approval for servicing all variants of the Rolls-Royce 250 engine. Vector is servicing the powerplants at its new Fleetlands facility based in Gosport, Hampshire. Vector acquired the site from the Ministry of Defense in 2008 and has since refurbished the facility to create an engine repair, overhaul and service center of excellence. The Fleetlands operation also is a designated overhaul facility for Pratt & Whitney Canada PW307A, PW308A and PW308C model engines.
DeCrane Aerospace has unveiled a new line of products that expand the company’s aircraft interior cabin offerings. The new Real Rock collection offers thin and flexible stone coverings similar to granite and slate that can be applied to cabinetry, replacing granite or slate in lavs and galleys, said Heidi McNary, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing. Nano Trim is decorative veneer-wrapped foam that goes over a lightweight core that is 50% lighter than wood and has better burn properties, McNary said.
AVOX SYSTEMS, B/E AEROSPACE oxygen cylinders [Docket No. FAA-2010-0272; Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-009-AD; Amendment 39-16310; AD 2010-11-05] – Remove substandard oxygen cylinders from the airplane before further flight, per the instructions of B/E Aerospace Service Bulletin 176000-35-01 (dated Nov. 2, 2009) and Zodiac Aerospace AVOX Systems, Inc. Service Bulletin 6084-34-35-01, Rev. 1 (dated Dec. 9, 2009).
The FAA has approved Gwinnett County’s application for privatization of Briscoe Field Airport (LZU) in Lawrenceville, Ga. Briscoe Field will be the only general aviation airport in the agency’s demonstration program for privatization established by Congress in 1996.
FAA is expanding the applicability of an emergency airworthiness directive calling for the replacement of certain hydraulic lifters before further flight. In an airworthiness directive released last week, FAA calls for hydraulic lifter replacement on Teledyne Continental Motors Series 240, 346, 360, 470, 520 and 550 engines and Rolls-Royce IO-240-A engines. The latest AD, which adds TCM 346 and Rolls-Royce IO-240-A engines, was issued following another occurrence of rapid wear on the face of certain hydraulic lifters.
Flight Options completed validation tests and secured FAA approval to place its new Embraer Phenom 300 aircraft on its air carrier certificate. FAA cleared the use of the Phenom 300 for Flight Options Part 135 and 91K operations. The approval came shortly after Flight Options took delivery of the aircraft (BA, May 24/2). The aircraft, which are expected to become the cornerstone of the Flight Options fleet, will enter fractional service in late summer/early fall. Flight Options this week is launching a 40-city nationwide tour of the aircraft.
CAE received a long-term agreement to supply training services to international aviation services company Gama Aviation. The agreement covers training for the Learjet 45, Learjet 60XR and Global Express. CAE will provide training at its center in Burgess Hill, U.K., near London Gatwick Airport. The agreement also includes e-Learning. Gama Aviation pilots and technicians are the first to train on CAE’s recently qualified Learjet 40/40XR/45/45XR flight simulator at Burgess Hill.
