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Tag Archives: Business Jet

Sleepy Year for Salina Regional Aviation Refuelling

July 20, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Doug Livergood, GM of Flower Aviation at Salina Regional Airport said today that although he believes that, due to its location in the virtual centre of the nation, Salina is a great location for landing and refuelling aircraft, but activity in general and business aviation is proving slow to recover from the recession.

Regrettably, Mr Livergood had to lay off a member of his team earlier this month, as business is so slow; he admits that he has ‘had guys falling asleep.’

Over the first six months of 2013, fuel sales are down by 30% for Flower Aviation, one of two fixed base operators at Salina Airport; the other, America Jet are down in the region of 37% for the same period.

The challenges facing the operators are put down to many factors, such as the loss of long-term clients who no longer own business jets, market competition from both national and international FBO’s, clients not ‘topping-up’ but only refuelling with essential fuel and, of course, the drop in the number of cross-country flights.

Tim Rogers, Airport Authority Executive Director commented, “The physical impact is significant for the airport authority and the FBOs, and merits attention that the airport authority board staff are giving it.”

In a bid to attract more visitors to the Airport, events are being scheduled, such as ‘Wings of Freedom’ which brought World War II aircraft, and Jaded Thunder; a military event that saw more than 500 visitors.  Later this year, America Jet has arranged a fly-in of T33 American trainer jets – America Jet currently hold the contract for military fuelling.

“We want to maintain the effort to attract and schedule military aviation unit training, civilian aircraft associations, and atmospheric and climate research missions, which all provide fuel sales opportunities for the FBO’s,” said Mr Rogers.

Charlotte Airport New Director Wants ‘No Disruption’

July 19, 2013
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Following the recent dramas at North Carolina’s Charlotte Airport, the new interim director, Brent Cagle want the focus of operations to be ‘no disruption.’

While legal issues are resolved, City Leader, Ron Carlee has said that they would never consider any other person to run the airport after the removal of the previous director, Jerry Orr.

Mr Cagle has told airport employees to focus upon their individual jobs to ensure business as usual at the busy airport and not to become embroiled in the public battle over control between city and state leaders.

Cagle said, “Our priority during this time of transition is to focus on no disruption and maintaining business as usual at CLT.”

Since the start of the wrangle, the North Carolina General Assembly issued a law to create a new Airport Authority that would, in effect, take over the airport from Charlotte City.  Within minutes, the City’s attorneys were asking a judge to stop the law in its tracks.

This has resulted in the City, State and the new Airport Authority having to prepare to ‘do battle’ in the courts to decide who will take control of the airport operations.

In the meantime, Mr Cagle is determined to ensure that airport operations run as smoothly as possible, with a focus upon the stability of the airport during the legal and political turmoil.

Bookajet Signals Business Aviation Growth

July 16, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Bookajet, leading supplier of executive jets to celebrities has announced the first signs of growth in business aviation since the beginning of the recession.  This growth is a welcome move for the business aviation industry and is likened to the property sector by the MD of Bookajet, Mr Jonathan Clements, who adds, “We are pleased to say we are starting to come out of what has been a very flat and challenging time in Europe.”

It appears that charter demand in business aviation is on the increase and the arrival of new additional aircraft to the fleet has meant the creation of new jobs in the UK.

Bookajet was established in business aviation in 2003 and has bases throughout Europe, in Italy, France, the Netherlands and in Russia that deal with the charter of private jets; overseeing more than 40 aircraft, management and sales.

The newest addition to the fleet is the Gulfstream 4, a luxury executive private jet capable of long-range flight.

Private and business aviation is a steadily growing sector and is competitive, with more and more emphasis placed upon comfort and connectivity.  It is critical that business aviation stays ahead of the game in terms of affordability, maintaining high standards and allowing passengers the same levels of business availability in the air that they have on the ground.

Communications providers must remain cost-effective while offering a range of services that are combined to keep the cabin as efficiently connected as the flight deck to maintain serviceability in this competitive sector of business aviation.

TAG Aviation Move Towards UK’s First Paperless Flight Deck with iPad Flight Planning App

July 15, 2013
Business Aviation News
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TAG Aviation Use iPad Flight Planning AppUK operator, TAG Aviation has said that it plans to replace the traditional flight bag with the use of iPads and an iPad flight planning app, making them the first UK business aviation operator to move toward the paperless cockpit.

A surprising difference is made to the weight of the aircraft and subsequent fuel consumption with the heavy flight bags on board, as minute calculations are made during the flight planning process.  The innovation of the iPad flight planning app reduces not only the paper consumption, but also the fuel costs making it an all-round winner for business aviation if you add the benefit of streamlined efficiency on the flight deck.

“The introduction of paperless technology will ensure that pilots have up-to-date, essential information at their fingertips.  Flights manuals, manufacturer’s documents and aeronautical flight charts can be updated at the touch of a button instead of the time-consuming and wasteful process of manually updating hard copies,” said Russ Allchorne, Vice President of Flight Operations Europe at TAG Aviation (UK). “At TAG Aviation, we are committed to identifying ways to pioneer standards in flight operations and wider business aviation practices to improve efficiency, safety and our environmental footprint.”

Many communications providers now offer the iPad flight planning app with the aim of reducing costs while maintaining effective and efficient flight management.  ARINC Direct, industry-leading business aviation solutions provider are able to incorporate the iPad flight planning app into their tailored communications and flight support services for business jets.

Analysts Predict Growth in Business Jet Market Despite Increases in Operating Costs

June 15, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Analysts from Research & Markets have forecast that despite increased operating costs, the Business Jet Global market should grow at an average annual rate of 9.4% over the four-year range of 2012-2016, in their new report ‘Global Business Jet Market 2012-2016’.

They attribute the market growth to a couple of factors including the rise in the number of global billionaires and an increasing demand from the emergence of certain economies, however there are concerns that increased operating costs could challenge this growth.

It is noted that in 2012, 28% of growth was attributed to emerging economies and could rise to 40% by 2030.

Companies such as Bombardier Inc, Dessault Aviation and Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. may dominate the market, with other vendors mentioned being; Airbus SAS, Embraer, The Boeing co and Hawker Beechcraft will all benefit from the growing order backlogs as growth is propelled by the major owner-operator segment of the market – billionaires.

Bangladesh Airports to Waive Aeronautical Fees for Private Aviation

June 8, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Following pressure from private airlines, Bangladeshi Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism have removed the fee structure for aeronautical operations for private airlines.

While the non-aeronautical fees for parking and access to hangar facilities will remain, private domestic airlines will no longer pay the fees associated with takeoff and landing, it was announced at the CIRDAP auditorium last week.

The Minister for Tourism, M Faruk Khan said, “It is to save the industry and these airlines will now be able to cut down operating costs.”

The move comes as a drastic measure in a bid to save the remaining three private airlines in Bangladesh.  Over the past 17 years, six operators have folded and the future of private aviation is in jeopardy if changes to the fee structure are not implemented.

Minister Khan blames previous Governments for the decline of the industry.  Tasbirul Islam, Managing Director of United Airways, urges further cuts to be made in non-aeronautical fees, but welcomes the decision to waive aeronautical fees.

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First Look at the Custom Fitted VIP BBJ3 from Boeing and Jet Aviation Basel at Geneva EBACE

May 28, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Visitors to EBACE 2013 will be able to view for the first time on static display, the luxuriously fitted BBJ3 from Boeing and Jet Aviation Basel.

The BBJ3 is the latest and the largest business jet aircraft from Boeing and is based upon the 737-900 Extended Range airliner.

The aircraft is currently on sale by the owner, who had the, Jet Aviation Design Studio VIP custom refit done last year.

The BBJ3 has a lounge, dining room, private bedroom with en-suite bathroom and staff area all comfortably furnished with the finest materials and fittings, including real stone, highly-polished sycamore wood, silk carpeting and hand-finished marquetry.

“As the first privately owned BBJ 3 to be completed at Jet Aviation Basel, the highly customized cabin interior is finished in a flawless, bright, high-gloss quarter-figured Sycamore wood, with hand-crafted marquetry artwork integrated in the entrance panel,” said Neil Boyle, Vice President of the Completions Center at Jet Aviation Basel.  The centre employs over 1200 staff in their design, engineering, upholstery, fibreglass and paint shops and is capable of outfitting jets to VIP standards as large as an Airbus A380.

During their long-time partnership with Boeing, Jet Aviation Basel has delivered 24 completed aircraft, this being the first privately owned BBJ3 to be completed and shown in this way.

The BBJ3 will accommodate 38 passengers and 8 crew members comfortably and is beautifully equipped for a VIP journey.  With a spacious cabin of 32.7 m long and 3.57 m wide and with a range of 4,900 nautical miles, it is outselling all other business jets in its class by 7-1.

President of BBJ, Captain Steve Taylor said, “Our customers demand airplanes with great performance, enabling them to conduct business around the world.”

The business jet aviation industry is experiencing a surge in growth and with more business and corporate use comes a high demand for comfort and connectivity in the air as effectively as in their ground-based offices.

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business aviation

U.S. Needs Business Aviation for Economic Growth

May 26, 2013
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Changing trends in commercial aviation have shown that over the past six years, there has been a drop in scheduled domestic flights to the tune of almost 9% per year in the largest hub airports in the U.S. with smaller airports losing 21% of domestic activity, according to a report by MIT’s International Center for Air Transportation.

The blame for this significant decrease in activity is largely attributed to the troubled economy and vastly fluctuating fuel prices, forcing operators to adjust capacity for a higher yield per flight and even removing direct flights to smaller airports, thus creating an impact upon small and medium-sized communities, in rural America, for example, in turn greatly affecting the service levels to these areas.

With public transport at a minimum in rural areas, and the demands upon business travellers increases with the economic crisis, there has never been a more critical time for business aviation to provide business travellers with the means to act fast in opportunistic situations.

The U.S. has invested billions in ensuring a safe, reliable and efficient air transport infrastructure and this is essential for the facilitation of the continued operation of airline travel for commercial airlines, business and recreational aircraft to maintain a robust infrastructure and to keep the skies busy and keep the economy growing.

Indeed, rural America encourages companies to bring jobs to the communities and the creation of effective transportation is welcomed with open arms.  The need for strong connections grows and, currently, airlines serve only 10% of the nation’s airports between less than 50 locations country-wide.

The authors of the report do not expect the situation to improve in the near future with commercial airlines and, with the businesses that fly their executives to where the opportunities lie, it is clear that business aviation is an area of the industry that will experience the growth and productivity that will ultimately benefit the nation’s economy.

business aviation

Business Aviation to aid economic growth

ARINC Direct Showcase Xplore at EBACE

May 22, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Last week in Geneva at EBACE, business aviation specialists, ARINC Direct took a step closer to a paperless cockpit with their latest innovation, Xplore, a new communications service, offering a four-in-one portable device – ACARS messaging, high-quality voice service, Blackberry email and SMS/Instant Messaging capable.

Xplore will use an iPad application for the user interface and will be user-friendly, adding the benefit of sychnronicity between two or more iPads with bluetooth technology.

ARINC Direct existing business jet-operating customers will notice that the ACARS functionality is completely interoperable with their ARINC Direct account.

“The system is so flexible and easy to use we are looking at a wider range of applications than just business jets for its use,” said ARINC director James Hardie.

ARINC Direct Xplore, using the Inmarsat and Iriudium satellite networks will enable global connectivity for the flight deck and passengers in a simple, single application.

Mr Hardie continued, “If pilots are equipped with SwiftBroadband and they use the iPad App, then they are benefitting from a dynamic aviation information platform which surpasses traditional methods of getting in flight data.”

ARINC Direct encouraged pre-ordering of their business jet innovation at EBACE and hope to complete certification to launch the live product later this year.

Xplore ACARS

ARINC Direct Xplore – ACARS

EASyII Flight Deck Communications Approved for Falcon Jet to bring CPDLC capability.

May 20, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Dassault Falcon, part of Dassault Aviation and responsible for the sale and support of Falcon Jets throughout the world, recently announced that they had received approval from the FAA & EASA for the new flight deck system EASyII to be installed on all EASy-series Falcons.

The move comes after development of the new flight deck communications system with enhanced data-link capabilities for the communication of CPDLC and other expanding Air Traffic Management technologies.

The new system will help to streamline flight deck comms and aid the reduction of miscommunication of air-ground voice messaging.

“The EASy flight deck has received an enthusiastic reception from Falcon operators due to its ability to streamline the workflow in the cockpit and enhance situational awareness,” John Rosanvallon, President and CEO of Dassault Falcon Jet, said, “EASy II offers new functionalities and improved capabilities based upon extensive customer feedback, new regulations and operational changes that accompany a new set of air traffic management tools.”

CPDLC messaging via data-link is faster, more efficient and can significantly reduce the flight deck workload, offering pilots and coordinators greater flexibility.

EASYII for CPDLC

EASyII CPDLC