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Airline Messaging Approval Spells Sales Opportunities

June 4, 2014
Business Aviation News
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Providers of Airline Messaging SolutionsThe US Department of Transportation’s first level approval of IATA’s plan to update airline messaging standards could mean that it will become easier for airlines to sell ancillary products and services to passengers at the time of booking. IATA’s Resolution 787 is concerned with what they are terming ‘the New Distribution Capability’ (NDC), governed by XML messaging, which will allow airlines to share their merchandise, ‘extras’ and upgrades with agents and other third-party distributors.

The long-awaited XML standard will be welcomed industry-wide for the distribution of the many varied products and services offered by different airlines. Currently, carriers are using a variety of methods to market services such as checked baggage, seats with greater legroom, Wifi and express boarding, for example.

The standard initially received opposition, particularly in the area of data sharing and consumer privacy. IATA addressed many of these concerns at their Annual Meeting last June and filed mutually-agreed conditions to the standards after subsequent discussions with the opposers, who included the Open Allies for Airfare Transparency.

It has also been generally and conditionally agreed that buying and other personal information would only be shared upon permission of the traveller.

Next MEBAC Venue Confirmed as Tunisia

June 3, 2014
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Ali_Al_Naqbi-MEBAA_03-06The Middle East and North Africa Business Association (MEBAA) has announced that the location of the next MEBAA Conference will be Tunisia, aimed at uniting the region’s business aviation industry around its common trends and challenges, including regulatory framework and FBO issues.

The two-day event, scheduled for 10th and 11th September 2014, will focus upon the North African market, following the recent success of MEBAC in Saudi Arabia last month and Morocco last year, where MEBAA partnered with WINGX and published an infographic based upon a study of the business aviation industry in North Africa and its findings that the industry is playing a positive role in the development of the region.

Mr Ali Al Naqbi (pictured), MEBAA’s Founding Chairman, is delighted with the announcement, “It is an exciting time for MEBAA as we continue to grow in membership numbers, products for our members, the launch of our fly and feed initiative, the Middle East Business Aviation show is set to take place at the end of the year at its new home – DWC. And finally, MEBAC, which has gained incredible traction now, spreading from the far west of the region to the east of the region and everything in between, in order to work together on issues critical to aviation’s ability to serve as a catalyst for economic growth. Our association will continue to meet and bring inspired and motivated people together through conferences in different cities around the Middle East and North Africa every year, to ensure the business aviation community remains at the forefront of this ever-changing industry.”

India’s DCGA Requests Financial Statements from Carriers

June 2, 2014
Business Aviation News
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spicejet 02-06India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) has demanded all carriers to submit their financial statements by the deadline next week or face the cancellation of their aviation licences. The request is part of a program to ensure that loss-making carriers maintain standards in relation to safety and is not intended to be a financial audit.

The DGCA has raised concerns that airlines that have reported financial losses will compromise on safety due to a lack of funding, particularly following the recent escalation of competitive pricing within a so-called ‘airfare war’.

Notices have been issued to major Indian carriers, such as Air India (AI) and Jet Airways in addition to the low-cost carriers GoAir, SpiceJet and the only profit-making carrier, IndiGo.

An official representative from the DGCA said, “Many Indian carriers have ordered new planes, which we believe does not match with their financial performance. We also need to see how much is spent against different heads, on safety, engineering, infrastructure, salaries and other mandatory requirements. We just cannot take any chance now. We will be presenting our case to USFAA. We have to prove that we have put in some best practices.”

Civil Aviation Secretary, Ashok Lavasa said, “We keep giving directions to the DGCA. They have to ensure they do it in compliance with the law.”

Aircraft Tracking Issue Won’t Wait Say Airlines

June 2, 2014
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Aircraft Tracking ProvidersFurther discussion are encouraged once again by Tony Tyler, Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to implement global flight tracking as three months pass since the disappearance of flight MH370. Many airlines simply do not want to wait for an industrywide solution to real-time tracking.

IATA plan to put aircraft tracking proposals to the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in September and believe standards could be in place within two to three years. Some airlines, however, do not want to wait and are looking into making arrangements much sooner than that. Qatar Airlines, for example, hosted a recent meeting of IATA in Doha last week and said that the ‘technology to track planes is available today’, and cited the possibility of adapting the ACARS system as an example.

The adaptation of ACARS, which delivers information in short bursts, is a real possibility for airlines to ensure tracking information is consistent without incurring extensive retrofit costs; using equipment that is already installed in the aircraft.

Qatar Airlines are amongst many that are expressing a serious interest in exploring the possibilities for the provision of real time flight tracking.

European CPDLC Trial Completed by SESAR

June 1, 2014
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CPDLC for SESAR InitiativeA demonstration project of Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) launched under the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) initiative has been completed this week across UK and Italian airspace with commercial flights operated by AirFrance, EasyJet and Scandinavian Airlines.

CPDLC will help to reduce pilot workload and improve safety by automating many routine cockpit tasks, in turn increasing air traffic management capacity in overcrowded airways. The system will supplement voice communications and will reduce communication errors, bridging language barriers and other challenges.

The project was completed over 95 flights and operated with a team of 30 air traffic controllers and resulted in initial findings that show involved parties are ‘increasingly confident about the use of data link communications (CPDLC) in most operational conditions where radio telephony messages can be replaced.’

In the US, under the FAA’s NextGen program, similar trials are taking place to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of air traffic controllers being given the ability to send flight procedural information and revised clearance messages via CPDLC directly to the aircraft avionics systems.

The SESAR Joint Undertaking initiative (SESAR JU) plan to deliver the final results of all trials in July, ahead of the mandatory changes early next year.

Bombardier CSeries Jet Grounded After Major Engine Failure

June 1, 2014
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Bombardier 01-06-14According to the Wall St Journal, an incident during ground maintenance testing of the Bombardier C Series jet resulted in an uncontained engine failure and has grounded the jet until an investigation is completed. Although the engine and body of the aircraft were damaged, no personnel suffered any injury.

The geared Turbofan engine (PW1500G) from Pratt & Whitney features a new fuel-saving concept that sees different parts of the engine running at different speeds. The incident is likely to cause further delays to the program that is already behind schedule.

Pratt & Whitney now face a major setback commercially, with the engine currently holding more than 5,500 orders from Bombardier, Embraer and for the Airbus A320neo series.

The company were not available for comment.

BaseOps International Announce Launch of Web-Based Flight Planning Portal

May 22, 2014
Business Aviation News
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Business Aviation Services ProvidersCurrent customers of BaseOps International will be able to look forward to utilising a new flight planning portal from June 2014. The company announced the forthcoming launch at the Geneva EBACE this week.

The web-based system will enable customers to plan routes and file the flight plans in addition to access NOTAMs and weather information, pre-order fuel and arrange aircraft handling, catering, hotels and even rental cars.

Web-based flight planning tools and services can assist military and business aircraft operators, providing secure and flexible solutions that are easily accessible from portable devices.

Other flight support services and flight planning tools providers, such as ARINC Direct for business aviation, bring packages that can be tailored to each individual customer, whether for a fleet of executive jets or for a single private aircraft.

Airport Operations Improvements for A-CDM Rollout

May 21, 2014
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Find out more about airport operations The Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) initiative, due to be launched by EUROCONTROL and ACI Europe early next year will attempt to gain the most from the current airways infrastructure that is threatening to be overwhelmed by 2035.

Airport operations must work closely with air traffic management departments to ensure that all departments have access to critical data sharing to enable the initiative to work at its utmost effectiveness.

This can be achieved, according to Lockheed Martin, by the implementation of airport operations software that will centralise key elements of data sharing and process management.

Lockheed Martin have developed Chroma Airport Suite to help make this process easier, similarly to ARINC’s Enterprise Hub web-based system.

Airport operations can benefit from web-based applications, giving customers the flexibility that they need to manage changing business and operational requirements and can aid a cost-sharing initiative to manage cost efficiencies across the entire messaging environment.

As the industry experiences growth, year-on-year, sharing data and information is becoming a necessity and web-based services can ensure streamlined messaging platforms that enable data sharing at source. This process in turn can optimise the A-CDM initiative with information at the fingertips of those who need it.

New Dubai Business Jet Leasing Company Launched

May 19, 2014
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Business Aviation ServicesA couple of former Embraer executives have formed a new leasing business in Dubai to provide simple and straightforward executive jet aircraft leasing to business aviation. The company was launched at EBACE last week.

The new company, Veling Tayara is a part of the airline leasing company, Veling, based in Mauritius and headed by Nirvan Veerasamy, former chief of Air Mauritius.

Ernie Edwards and Colin Steven, both former executives of Embraer Executive Jets are setting out to bring new types of leasing structures with simplified financing that will offer far more flexibility, allowing clients to upgrade or change the agreement as their businesses change.

Mr Edwards said, “Our structured finance model provides more than just an operating lease package for a client’s business jet. Instead of tying up an owner’s cash, an operating lease will permit the owner to invest in appreciating assets instead of depreciating capital equipment.”

“Together, my board and I believe there is a service we can provide the business jet financing world that places the client in the enviable position of not having to worry about aircraft disposal at the end of the lease. At that time, the operator can have the simple choice of either extending the lease or returning the aircraft. It’s as simple as that.”

“Veling Tayara will remove the burden of owning the asset and provide inherent options throughout the lease period. It will provide flexible operating leases designed to clients’ individual needs, permitting upgrades to larger, newer aircraft as the business grows,” said Mr Steven.

Honda Reveals New Business Jet Aircraft at EBACE

May 19, 2014
Business Aviation News
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Honda Business JetHondaJet, a production model designed to carry up to seven passengers and crew in style has been unveiled at EBACE in Geneva this week. This much-anticipated debut from Honda was well-received, with the company proudly announcing several milestone achievements.

Honda, who have nine aircraft on the final assembly lines, said that the jet is ready for ground testing, having recently taken delivery of the first GE Honda HF120 engines. The first flights are expected to take place this summer.

“Honda Aircraft Co.’s most important goals are achieving Federal Aviation Administration Type Certification and delivering the first customer aircraft,” said Michimasa Fujino, president and chief executive. The final certification stages began in December 2013.

“The HondaJet production line is maturing with efficient and robust processes in place to build high quality aircraft,” Fujino said. “From handheld tablets that deliver worker instructions to an automatic guided cart to pick up and deliver parts, we continue to integrate the latest technology into our production process to create an efficient workflow.”