Honeywell Aerospace scored two firsts for the region at the recent Middle East Business Aviation show in Dubai when it signed up construction and management giant Saudi Oger as the launch customer in the region for its Boeing Business Jet avionics maintenance plan, and an unnamed launch customer for its BBJ 131-9B auxiliary power unit maintenance plan. It also appointed Arab-owned, U.S.-based GDC Technics to retrofit its JetWave satellite communications system in Airbus and Boeing VIP aircraft.
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) will invest more than $1 billion in research and development over the next 4 1/2 years to develop the next generation of high-performance aircraft engines, the company announced in early December. The investment includes a $300 million repayable contribution from the government of Canada under the Strategic Aerospace and Defense Initiative program.
Signs of a recovery in the business aviation sector are reinforced by predictions of a 13-consecutive-month increase in flight activity when the December figures come in. Analysts at TRAQPak estimate there will be 1.4% growth in overall flight activity year over year in December, following a 3.7% increase in November vs. the same month a year earlier. TRAQPac is the intelligence data arm of Argus International. The results by operational category were positive across the board, with Part 135 reporting the largest growth, up 8.6%.
Boeing has named David Longridge as president of Boeing Business Jets following the promotion of Capt. Steve Taylor to chief pilot of Boeing’s Flight Services unit. Longridge, a 21-year veteran of Boeing, most recently served as sales director based in the U.K., leading the British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and TUI accounts. He was previously a sales director for BBJ when the group was founded in 1996. Taylor leaves BBJ on a high note. While at BBJ, the organization sold 28 jetliners to be outfitted as VIP aircraft.
Downloaded CVR and FDR preliminary information from an Embraer Phenom 100 that crashed 1 mi. short of the runway at the Montgomery County Airpark outside Washington, D.C. on Dec. 8 revealed that the aircraft’s automated stall warning system sounded continuously for the final 20 sec. of the flight, according to NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt. The accident killed the pilot and the two passengers on the jet as well as a woman and her two children in one of three houses struck by debris.
Two major milestones coincided within days of each other at Turbomeca, the French manufacturer of helicopter engines: the 40th anniversary of the first flight of its Arriel engine, and the entry into service of its latest engine, the Arrius 2B2 Plus. The Arrius B2B Plus entered service this month on an Airbus Helicopter EC135 T3 with Italian mountain rescue operator Aiut Alpin Dolomites.
RUAG Aviation recently completed the first upgrade in Europe of a Falcon 2000 with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics replacing the aircraft’s Pro Line 4 cockpit. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and FAA-approved upgrade is also available for the Falcon 2000EX. RUAG carried out the upgrade at its Lugano, Switzerland, facility during a 3C inspection, which was itself the first performed at that location.
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) will invest more than $1 billion in research and development over the next 4 1/2 years to develop the next generation of high-performance aircraft engines, the company announced in early December. The investment includes a $300 million repayable contribution from the government of Canada under the Strategic Aerospace and Defense Initiative program.
Airbus Helicopters has delivered the 2nd Super Puma AS332 C1e to the Bolivian Air Force (FAB). At the end of 2013, the FAB purchased six of these light-medium helicopters to fight drug trafficking and perform civil security and public service missions throughout the country. The first helicopter was delivered in August of this year and the four remaining helicopters will be delivered between now and 2016.
Chinese companies are steadily adding to their portfolio of Western general aviation manufacturers ahead of the anticipated boom that will follow the opening of low-level airspace there. Two little-known acquisitions came to light at last month’s Airshow China in Zhuhai:
Surf Air, the all-you-can-fly startup airline operating within California, hopes to launch similar operations in Texas and Florida within the next year, and wants to eventually begin near-hourly service between the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, executives said in interviews. The airline, run by former Frontier Airlines CEO Jeff Potter, placed a firm order in August for 15 Pilatus PC-12 aircraft with 50 options. The first arrived last month, giving Surf Air a fleet of four aircraft, each with eight seats.
ExcelAire added another Gulfstream to its growing charter fleet, this one being a GIV-SP that can seat 18 passengers. Based at Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) in New York, ExcelAire operates a range of light, medium, super-midsize and heavy jets. It is the anchor charter and management company for Hawthorne Global Aviation Services, which is a growing chain of fixed-base operations.
FBO Winner Aviation is expanding its offerings by joining the Avfuel Corp. dealer network. As a result, Avfuel-branded programs — including Avtrip rewards and jet fuel-savings program Avfuel Contract Fuel — will be made available at Winner’s Ohio base at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. Winner this is incorporating Avfuel’s training and systems. To celebrate the partnership, Winner Aviation will offer triple Avtrip points on qualifying services through year-end.
Signature Flight Support has signed an agreement to lease part of a new general aviation terminal at Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) in St. Maarten, as the company moves to upgrade its facilities and build up its presence in the Caribbean. SXM became Signature’s first location in the Caribbean when the company acquired the Arrindell Aviation Services facilities there in 2011.
Louis Chenevert, the architect of the biggest aerospace and defense (A&D) acquisition ever and a driving force behind Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan (GTF) engine, has stepped down as chairman and CEO of United Technologies Corp. (UTC). Gregory J. Hayes, UTC’s chief financial officer, is replacing him as CEO. Edward A. Kangas, a member of UTC’s board, will become non-executive chairman. In an announcement before the stock market opened Nov.
Louis Chenevert, the architect of the biggest aerospace and defense (A&D) acquisition ever and a driving force behind Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan (GTF) engine, has stepped down as chairman and CEO of United Technologies Corp. (UTC). Gregory J. Hayes, UTC’s chief financial officer, is replacing him as CEO. Edward A. Kangas, a member of UTC’s board, will become non-executive chairman. In an announcement before the stock market opened Nov.
Cessna’s grand plans for China have been scaled back considerably from those outlined at signing ceremonies with AVIC two years ago. But progress has been made: the first Cessna Caravan utility aircraft has been delivered from one joint venture; the first two Citation XLS+ business jets delivered from a second JV, based at Zhuhai, to Zhongheng Air Lines. The XLS+ aircraft were built, completed and licensed in Wichita, then flown to Zhuhai.
FAA is proposing a $160,000 civil penalty against aviation spare parts, support services and inventory products provider Parker Aerospace of Irvine, California. The agency alleges the facility violated drug and alcohol testing regulations, hiring two people for safety-sensitive positions before conducting pre-employment drug tests and receiving results. FAA further claims the company transferred an employee into a safety-sensitive position before conducting drug tests and receiving results. Parker has until late December to respond to the allegations.
The U.S. House passed the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (H.R. 5771) on Dec. 3, renewing provisions to encourage capital investment. But the move only served to kick the can down the road, and not very far at that. Nevertheless, business aviation organizations see passage as a step forward. “NBAA applauds this action by the House to renew bonus depreciation and other tax incentives that encourage businesses to upgrade equipment and invest in assets such as aircraft,” National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen says.
