Having seen signs of recovery in the business aircraft market come and go, nobody is ready to crack open the Champagne just yet, even though there are new indicators that life may be returning to key segments underpinning business jet sales. “April was a very good month for us,” says Embraer CEO Frederico Fleury Curado. The question now is whether that momentum can be sustained. The U.S., in particular, is a region where sales prospects are mounting, he points out.
With projected fleet growth and expected pilot retirements, it is inevitable there will be a shortage of crews to fill commercial flight decks. It is just a question of when and where, with some regions already feeling the pinch. So training provider CAE is getting ready to respond to demand by acquiring the flight-school, type-rating and crew-sourcing capacity of Oxford Aviation Academy (OAA) of Canada, arguably the leading name in ab-initio pilot training.
AgustaWestland has logged the first flight of the 4,500-kg (10,000-lb.) AW169 helicopter it hopes to start delivering in 2015. The first of four flight-test aircraft flew on May 10 at the company's plant at Cascina Costa, Italy. Two more prototypes are to fly this year with a fourth next year, as AgustaWestland aims for civil certification in 2014.
Airbus wants to grow the charter market for its corporate jet line and has gained recent approvals from FAA, European Aviation Safety Agency and General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia for Part 135 operations of its ACJ318 and ACJ319, as well as Civil Aviation Administration of China backing for the ACJ319.
Bombardier’s fractional ownership unit, Flexjet, is adding the newest members of the Learjet product line, the Learjet 70 and 75, to its fleet. Flexjet announced plans to expand its portfolio just days after Bombardier unveiled the 70 and 75 light jets as successors to the Learjet 40XR and 45XR. Flexjet is still finalizing details about pricing and fleet mix, says Bruce Peddle, Flexjet senior VP-marketing and sales.
ITT Exelis is making rapid progress in deploying the satellite-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) network in the U.S., with more than 60% of the required ground stations now completed. In an update provided to Aviation Week, the manufacturer says it has built 428 ADS-B radio stations. The current plan is for 700 stations to be deployed: 647 in the continental U.S., 41 in Alaska, nine in Hawaii and one each in Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
General Electric (GE) has increased the 2020 revenue target for its business and general aviation engine segment because of strong order bookings. The company had set a target of reaching $1 billion in revenue by 2020, but with business already booked, the company knows it will surpass that level, Brad Mottier, VP and general manager of GE Aviation business and general aviation, said during EBACE 2012. A new target has now been set, he added, without disclosing the new level.
Industry organizations disagree on who should manage and operate unmanned aircraft system (UAS) test sites, but they all believe a UAS test program should be used to gather critical safety data, develop certification and training standards and ensure sense-and-avoid capabilities.
Honeywell expects certification authorities to sign off on several of its in-development cockpit upgrades before the year-end, including programs for the Falcon 7X and Falcon 2000 EASy II avionics upgrade Honeywell is conducting with Dassault Aviation.
Gulfstream Aerospace expects to receive FAA type certification for the large-cabin G650 and super mid-size G280 in the third quarter with customer deliveries planned shortly after, the airframer said during the 12th annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Geneva. The two aircraft are “neck and neck,” so it is not clear which will be certified first, says Gulfstream President Larry Flynn. European Aviation Safety Agency certification is due by the year-end.
Embraer is optimistic the positive developments within business aviation could lead to a broader sales momentum for the Brazilian manufacturer. “April was a very good month for us,” says Embraer CEO Frederico Fleury Curado at the 12th annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Geneva. The question now is whether that can be sustained.
Industry organizations disagree on who should manage and operate unmanned aircraft system (UAS) test sites, but they all believe a test program should be used to gather critical safety data, develop certification and training standards and ensure sense-and-avoid capabilities.
GALMENA - a joint venture formed between Canada's GAL Aviation and Bahrain's MENA Aerospace used EBACE to formally sign its service agreement with ExecuJet Middle East.
Rolls-Royce and Gulfstream are celebrating today as the Gulfstream V (GV) aircraft family achieves one million flying hours. The Rolls-Royce BR710 powers the GV, GV-SP, G500 and G550.
CAE today announced at EBACE convention in Geneva, that it has signed a long-term agreement with Masterjet to train pilots exclusively at Emirates-CAE Flight Training in Dubai, UAE, as well as CAE training centres near London, United Kingdom; New York City and Dallas for Cessna CJ3, Dassault Falcon 7X, 900 and 900EX EASy aircraft types.
Cessna has launched the Citation Longitude as its latest attempt to break the super mid-size market three years after canceling the Columbus program. In an effort to curtail costs, the Longitude will have virtually the same performance capabilities as the Columbus, although the fuselage cross section mirrors the manufacturer's Citation Latitude, which is six inches narrower than the Columbus. Also, the main seating area will be seven inches shorter.
Embraer this quarter expects to receive clearance from Chinese authorities to build Legacy 650s in China. The wait to convert the Harbin Embraer Aircraft Industry Co. facility from building ERJ-145s, all of which have been delivered, to Legacy 650s has been long, but according to Ernest Edwards, president of Embraer executive aviation, approval is expected before July. After receiving this approval, Embraer expects to deliver the first aircraft in about 18 months, the facility will support only deliveries to Chinese customers.
Qatar Airways’ negotiations to buy the Bombardier CSeries are on hold as the airline deals with other expansion issues. “We are very busy [and] have our hands full,” Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said during the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Geneva, pointing to the airline’s plans to introduce Boeing 787, Airbus A380, A350 and A320NEO into its fleet.
The long wait for Bombardier to unveil replacements for the Learjet 40XR and 45XR is over with the launch of the Learjet 70 and 75 at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition this week in Geneva. The new models, which are scheduled to enter service in the second half of 2013, will offer more thrust, improved takeoff performance, faster climb to cruise altitude, better fuel efficiency and lower operating costs.
Business aviation specialist ConnectJets is launching a dedicated loyalty programme for clients who are able to commit to 25 or more flight hours per year.
Following the cooperation agreement signed between Saudia Private Aviation (SPA) and Aviation Horizons last week, the two companies were in action together at the EBACE show in Geneva where they signed a letter of intent (LOI) for ground handling services.
R&D organization Battelle has completed preliminary design of an improved icing spray system to replace equipment now used by the U.S. Army to perform icing certification on military and civil helicopters and smaller fixed-wing aircraft.
