This month will see the Isle of Man host the sixth aviation conference, aimed to bring business aviation industry participants and professionals together from around the world.
Organised by the ICM Group, the conference is business oriented, and billed as this year’s ‘must-attend’ event. Approximately 150 business aviation professionals are expected to attend the Villa Marion venue in Douglas later this month, and opportunities for networking will take place during and after the event.
It has been announced that Rockwell Collins will provide its Venue cabin management and passenger communications solution on the new Bombardier Global 5000 and Global 6000 aircraft from Q3 this year.
Venue gives the modern business jet a comprehensive solution to deliver advanced IFE and cabin management with boardroom applications. As corporate travellers continue to demand faster and more reliable passenger communications, Venue is the perfect solution with scalable features to allow cost-effective additions in technology as they become available.
Venue is Rockwell Collins’ most advanced cabin management system available, and has been implemented by more than 850 private jets around the world.
Passenger communications solutions are also available for business aircraft of all sizes through Rockwell Collins’ dedicated business aviation services provider, ARINCDirect.
Rockwell Collins has validated Inmarsat’s Jet ConneX (JX) network performance in addition to a portion of its value-added services through the business aviation arm, ARINCDirect.
As a value-added reseller, ARINCDirect will offer Jet ConneX to its business jet operators to deliver high-speed aircraft internet, delivering the highest connection speeds and a greater efficiency in the use of bandwidth over the Ka-band.
Rockwell Collins’ ARINCDirect provide business aviation services, including flight planning and support, in addition to its flight deck and passenger communications solutions.
Metrojet, pioneering Hong Kong-based executive jet operator and maintenance provider, has selected Rockwell Collins’ ARINCDirect to provide its international trip support and services for its fleet of business aircraft.
ARINCDirect’s international trip support delivers a holistic service including flight planning, contract fuel purchasing and even concierge services for its executive clients.
Metrojet’s CEO, Bjorn Naf said, “Metrojet is dedicated to upholding the highest standards and meeting our customer’s needs in the most professional and personal way possible. ARINCDirect services provides economies of scale and cost savings that benefit both our business and our customers.”
The contract is considered a major milestone for ARINCDirect in Hong Kong, and it looks ahead to growth for international trip support services in Asia.
The largest business aviation operator out of Hong Kong International Airport, Metrojet, will be celebrating 20 years of operation on 17th June 2017, an achievement which makes them proud, as pioneers according to Kitty Lau, the company’s senior marketing and product development executive.
Metrojet are among the few operators who provide maintenance and charter, in addition to projecting a group image of hospitality, coming from their roots as the aviation arm of the Peninsula Hotels Group, owned by Sir Michael Kadoorie.
The British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) addressed the issue of business aviation travel’s image as being just for the rich and famous at their annual conference in London last month.
It is a perception of the public that to fly on business jets is a privilege, when the industry as a whole would prefer it perceived as a ‘tool’ for businesses, removing some of the negativity associated with the industry sector.
Also addressing airports access, taxation and environmental impact, the conference worked towards improving public opinion, with the discussion of economic benefits and the fact that just 7% of traffic is represented by business aviation, with less than 1% of the emissions.
Countries with poor travel infrastructure, due to the nature of the environment, such as China, for example, could benefit from private air travel in the business sector, which would vastly improve economic growth in harder-to-reach areas, where smaller aircraft will find access simpler.
It is a sorry start to the year for Bombardier, who has announced that 10% of its workforce will lose their jobs in a bid to save the ailing manufacturer.
It is thought that 7,000 jobs will go as Bombardier continue to try to turn itself around. Last year the launch of the Learjet 85 was suspended indefinitely, as orders tailed off across the industry. Approximately 500 jobs will be cut in the company’s business aviation sector, with almost half of those from the Learjet facility in Wichita.
Bombardier is a company that holds sustainability close to the heart of its business ideal, and continues to be dedicated to carrying that model throughout its operations.
Aviation Services Management (ASM) has expanded its flight support services operation in India with the introduction of a new subsidiary company called Aviation Travel and Tourism Services (ATTS).
The company, who has also opened a new office in Dubai International Airport, is hoping to continue to expand and take on more employees this year.
Flight support services for business aircraft is a niche marketplace, but offers a critical service in a sector that generally does not have the backing of a flight operations department in the same way that the commercial sector does.
Flight support services provider, Rockwell Collins’ ARINCDirect also offers a comprehensive suite of solutions for business jets, including a multi-source flight tracking service, in addition to a wide range of aircraft communications options. ARINCDirect, launched in 2003, was the pioneer of exclusive business aircraft support.
A new communications satellite has been launched by Intelsat this week, the first of its latest EpicNG range. Intelsat 29e has been designed to provide low-cost connectivity for the North American routes for both air and sea and will eventually become part of a seven-strong satellite network.
The satellite will be used to deliver fast passenger communications onboard aircraft, as today’s demands increase for connectivity. Currently, both business and commercial aircraft are able to provide aircraft broadband at increasingly higher speeds and bandwidth, with many employing the Inmarsat satellite network, such as Rockwell Collins’ ARINCDirect, who provide passenger connectivity exclusively for business jets.
Business passengers are probably the most demanding when it comes to aircraft broadband, as they want and need to continue working onboard as effectively as they can in their ground-based office environments.
Stratajet, who claim they are the ‘world’s only instant online marketplace for private aircraft’, has taken to the U.S. in a bid to break into the American market.
Launched only last year, Stratajet now have more than 500 aircraft on their books in Europe, providing real-time flight pricing for consumers and cutting out the broker system.
Travelling in the company’s Piper Chieftain, Stratajet’s CEO, Jonny Nicol will call on charter operators and FBOs across the U.S. and will participate in the NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers conference in Florida and the Regional Forum at the end of this month.
Nicol wants to spread the word about the service, which in its first booking, saved the customer 40% on the price of a traditional broker-based reservation.
Business Aviation News 