Aviation made it into the news this week for all the wrong reasons. Airlines warn that Britain’s airports could be reduced to ‘gridlock’ over Easter due to security staff shortages.

Airlines have warned that the UK Border Agency does not have enough staff to check the passports of everyone coming into Britain, and long queues could leave passengers stranded on planes.

1.5 million holidaymakers are expected to travel this weekend but if the security halls are blocked passenger will need to remain on the aircraft resulting in security risks and serious operational delays for airlines.

More good news for business aviation this week. The re-engined business jet 737 Max is to be expanded with a new variant – the BBJ Max, targeted at VIP Business Jet customers.

The Next Generation Boeing 737 Family - www.boeing.com

The president of Boeing Business Jets, says: “We are working with several existing customers and one would like to be the launch customer for that aircraft.” The plans come in response to the view that the target customers are looking for shorter lead times.

It looks as though the CFM International Leap-1B-powered Max will start production in 2017.

Boeing Business Jets said that the BBJ 2 Max – the VIP equivalent of the 737-8 – will offer a potential range of 6,200nm (11,470km).  It also hopes to sell three former 787-8 test aircraft to the VIP market. Although it has 12 VIP 787s in its backlog, delivery will not begin until 2014.

This week we heard that Aviation Week presented its 2012 MRO of the Year Awards for outstanding achievement and innovation in aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) to four industry leaders: US Airways, Sikorsky Aerospace Services, Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co., and Leading Edge Aviation Services.

These annual industry awards honor the world’s top MRO and aftermarket companies. “These winners have demonstrated how creativity and a passion for solving problems can go a long way,” said Lee Ann Tegtmeier, editor-in-chief of Overhaul & Maintenance. “Aviation Week is proud to present them with these awards for their significant contributions to aviation aftermarket industry.”

The Outstanding Airline Maintenance Group winner, US Airways, made significant achievements in last year, including reducing how long deferred maintenance items stayed open by 19% and successfully deferring fewer maintenance items, which set new records for lowest day and lowest month totals.

MRO attendees and industry leaders applauded this year’s winners at the afternoon ceremony on April 3. For more information on the awards and winners, including photos, visit AviationWeek.com or read the April 2012 issue of Overhaul & Maintenance.

AVIC Aviation Techniques, China’s national aircraft manufacturer, has planned to develop a significant share of the business jet family.

By identifying demand for business jets amongst Chinese users AVIC hopes dominate the market, manufacturing them within China. A agreement was put in place 23rd March between Cessna and AVIC to manufacture Cessna’s Sovereign and Latitude mid-sized business jets in Chengdu.

AVIC President Wang Yawei said this week “We can’t only allow Western companies to sell aircraft in China. We want this business too. AVIC has the mandate to manufacture several types of business jets and establish our presence, just like what China has done in the motorcar business,” he said. “The rapid development of China’s economy has resulted in a boom in business aviation here, and we want to be competitive in the global market too.”

The plan is for the first Sovereign to roll off the Chengdu production line by the end of 2013, said Wang. Production of the Latitude, which Cessna first announced in 2011, could begin in around 2014 after it gets its certification. That year, AVIC and Cessna could begin studying the design of a large-sized business jet and start developing it in the middle of the decade, although no details were released on volumes of aircraft.

French aviation company Dassault  is targeting the emerging Indian markets for its long range business jets, in particular the Falcon 7X. The aircraft, described as a “stunning advancement in business aviation” has become the company best selling business jet. It is also the first fully “fly-by-wire” business jet.

Falcon 7x Business Jet

“Fly-by-wire” technology was developed in the ’70s, offering additional safety measures. Computers give out automatic signals that allow the plane to perform functions such as aircraft stabilization with no input from the pilot.The system is lighter than other mechanical systems, giving more freedom to designers in reducing the aircraft’s weight and size for more manoeuvrability and lower operating costs.

Last year two near miss accidents temporarily grounded the entire fly-by-wire fleet (about 112 of them) for several weeks. The Falcon 7X encountered a problem with the “horizontal stabilizer trim circuitry” (with the incident described by Dassault officials as a runaway pitch problem) that required software and hardware modifications. All the corrections have been made on the aircraft and the Falcon 7X is now fully certified with several orders lined up. Eurocopter Phils., together with Dassault of France, is planning to bring to Manila the shorter range Falcon 2000X around mid-April this year for showing and will conduct test flights for potential buyers in the Philippines.