Marquis Jet, a private jet card membership company that sells blocks of time through an alliance with NetJets, has teamed with cigar specialist Zino Platinum to jointly market their programs. Under the agreement, Marquis Jet Card owners will receive certain gifts, such as Zino Platinum Crown Series cigars, and receive an invitation for enrollment in the Zino Platinum Crown Club. Zino Platinum Crown Club members will receive special offers to join the Marquis Jet Card program and additional Zino Platinum benefits if they join Marquis Jet.
Eagle Creek Aviation Services opened a Learjet service center at its facilities in Indianapolis, Ind. The center will provide scheduled maintenance, repairs, structural modifications, TFE731 turbofan service and refurbishment for Learjet aircraft. Eagle Creek also maintains and refurbishes Cessna Citation aircraft.
Air Transport Association President and CEO Jim May last week continued the airlines' call for changes in the aviation tax system. Speaking before the Aero Club of Washington Wednesday, May said "there should be a searching and complete overhaul of tax policies and the elimination of many of the taxes and fees that have been heaped upon our industry." May was specifically speaking about airline taxes, reiterating earlier claims that he and ATA members have made about the industry subsidizing general aviation. See article below.
October 10-11 - National Business Aviation Association 13th Annual Tax Conference, Las Vegas, Nev., (202) 783-9000 October 12-14 - National Business Aviation Association 57th Annual Meeting and Convention, Las Vegas, Nev., (202) 783-9000 October 21-23 - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Expo 2004, Long Beach, Calif., (301) 695-2000
ARINC and its partner AeroMech have teamed up to develop two comprehensive reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) packages for Hawker 700 business jets. The packages cover Hawkers equipped with Collins ADC-80 air data computers as well as those with dual Collins 590A air data sensors installed. ARINC and AeroMech will offer installation service for the RVSM package in the U.S. at ARINC's FAA/JAA-certified repair stations in Colorado Springs, Colo. or at the operators' home base.
FAA PROPOSES TO FINE CITY OF CHICAGO, INVESTIGATES VIOLATIONS OVER MEIGS - Nearly 18 months after Mayor Richard Daley ordered the midnight bulldozing of Chicago Meigs Field, the Federal Aviation Administration Friday proposed assessing a $33,000 civil penalty against the city and said it was beginning an investigation into whether the city violated its federal grant assurances and airport-sponsor obligations in the demolition (BA, April 7, 2003/153).
FAA, EUROCONTROL SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT - FAA inked a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with Eurocontrol to increase cooperation on air traffic management and research efforts between the two agencies. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and Eurocontrol Director General Victor Aguado signed the agreement.
Northwest Airlines CEO Richard H. Anderson, who has persistently claimed that general aviation does not pay its fair share of costs to support the National Airspace System, is leaving the Minneapolis-based airline. Anderson, 49, who has been CEO at Northwest since 2001, is leaving to become executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, a major provider of health insurance, Nov. 1. Douglas M. Steenland, 53, president of Northwest, was named to the additional post of CEO.
Eurocopter Malaysia, which serves as EADS Socata's distributor for the Southeast Asia region, sold four TB 10 Tobago GT training aircraft to the Langkawi Aerospace Training Center. The aircraft will be used for basic and advanced training for Langkawi's aerospace engineer and airline pilot students.
Congress last week guaranteed it will have to return for a "lame duck" session after the November election. Members were unable to agree on appropriations bills for most government agencies - including Transportation/FAA - for the fiscal year that began Friday (Oct. 1). Instead, the House and Senate passed a "continuing resolution" (CR) that continues funding at fiscal 2004 levels. The CR will keep FAA and other federal agencies operating through Nov. 20.
While automakers have been buying two-page advertising spreads in major publications to promote the safety of their vehicles, one airline analyst believes the aviation industry should not follow suit. Raymond Neidl, an analyst with Calyon Securities, said the investment community already assumes that the aviation industry is safe. To advertise the safety records only points out the potential for problems, he said, adding that aviation businesses could better spend their money elsewhere.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association is working with the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) and several of IBAC's participating associations to develop a white paper on the future of communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS) for business aviation. Representatives from several international business aviation associations recently held an organizational meeting to discuss the project and plan to outline their vision for the future of business aviation CNS.
FAA'S CHEW BACKS LAAS, BUT SAYS QUESTIONS LINGER ABOUT FUTURE - Despite its decision to cut fiscal 2005 funding for the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) program, the Federal Aviation Administration remains committed to pursuing the program as a component of the agency's vision for the future of navigation, FAA Chief Operating Officer Russell Chew said (BA, Feb. 9/57).
CESSNA BEGINS SOVEREIGN DELIVERIES - Cessna Aircraft last week delivered the first two Citation Sovereigns to customers in Mexico City, Mexico and Green Bay, Wis. The Wichita, Kan. manufacturer earned full type certification for the midsize jet in June (BA, June 7/258), almost six years after the aircraft was introduced to the public. Cessna has firm orders for more than 100 Sovereigns valued at $1.5 billion.
BAE SYSTEMS Model BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-90-AD; Amendment 39-13785; AD 2004-18-07) - supersedes an existing AD, which currently requires identifying the part numbers of discharge valves and cabin pressure controllers, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This amendment requires identifying the part number of an additional cabin pressure controller, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary.
Aviation Points Exchange (APEX) added four new fixed-base operations to the APEX network. Latest APEX participants are Downtown Air Center at Bates Field in Mobile, Ala.; Executive Flight Center at Madison County Municipal Airport in Huntsville, Ala.; Premier Aviation at Tucson International Airport in Tucson, Ariz.; and Crotts Aircraft Service at Dodge City Regional Airport in Dodge City, Kan. APEX is a nationwide loyalty and rewards program designed for aviation businesses. More than 35 FBO and Air Chef bases participate.
RTI BUYING CANADIAN COMPONENT MANUFACTURER - RTI International Metals, Inc. signed an agreement to acquire Claro Precision, Inc., of Montreal, Quebec, which supplies a number of aircraft components for Canadian original equipment maker Bombardier. RTI, headquartered in Niles, Ohio, described Claro as a "leading manufacturer of precision-machined components and complex mechanical and electrical assemblies for the aerospace industry." The company has 130 employees and annual revenues of about $20 million (Canadian).
Rockwell Collins teamed with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems to integrate and jointly market Rockwell Collins' moving map and multi-region satellite television system with General Dynamics' YES! in-flight entertainment system. The companies will integrate Rockwell Collins' Airshow 4200i three-dimensional interactive moving map and Tailwind 560 television system on YES!-equipped aircraft.
Operators of older business jets who had been hoping for a delay in implementation of Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums are not going to get their wish. FAA said Thursday that a meeting Wednesday between FAA officials and their counterparts in Mexico and Canada confirmed that RVSM will go into effect over North America Jan. 20, 2005.
October 10-11 - National Business Aviation Association 13th Annual Tax Conference, Las Vegas, Nev., (202) 783-9000 October 12-14 - National Business Aviation Association 57th Annual Meeting and Convention, Las Vegas, Nev., (202) 783-9000 October 21-23 - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Expo 2004, Long Beach, Calif., (301) 695-2000
