Business Aviation

Brussels, Belgium Dec 16th, 2020Global group of leading business aviation organizations announced a coordinated effort to combat illegal on-demand charter flights in the sector. The group, called the Air Charter Safety Alliance, will raise awareness among potential customers, charter brokers, ministries of transport, and national aviation authorities regarding the use of unauthorized aircraft operators for on-demand flights.While the overwhelming majority of on-demand charter flights comply with national and international safety standards, there have been instances of unauthorized aircraft operators actively avoiding aviation authority oversight, placing at risk the safety of unwitting passengers and hurting the economic health of approved charter operators.In the past, several associations worked actively on reducing illegal activity by setting up dedicated websites to educate and engage aircraft owners and national authorities on proper compliance with charter regulations. Over the next three months, the coalition hopes to collect best practices from the various associations, create an online platform and initiate an online educational campaign to make main stakeholders aware of the dangers of illegal charter. The coalition will develop and promote several safety programs that assist on-demand charter operators while continuing to improve their already impressive safety performance. Industry-led programs focusing on Safety Management Systems, flight data recording and safety reporting, along with a focus on safety culture have aided in bringing greater value to state-approved charter operators. Creating more discerning customers, in addition to efforts that will help to identify illegal charters, will hopefully dissuade those seeking to compromise safety for profit. Kurt Edwards, Director General, IBAC, said, “The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has established obligations and guidance on the regulation of international air transport as well as standards and recommended practices for the safety and security of commercial and non-commercial air transport. These form the harmonized basis for legal international air charter activities. We are pleased to work with the IBAC member associations to raise awareness among national authorities and client populations of this international framework to further reduce the occurrence of charter operations inconsistent with the framework.” Robert Baltus EBAA COO stated, “Business aviation is known as the most flexible means of transportation, using the highest safety standards, and EBAA and our partners aim to ensure that the travelling public can continue to trust our industry.” “Illegal/Grey charters know no boundaries. NATA is proud to bring our proven expertise, tools, and resources, found at www.avoidillegalcharter.com, to a global movement to end this pervasive problem. The industry has made great progress in joining together to advance crucial initiatives such as sustainability. We look forward to experiencing that same level of success as a unified force in eliminating illegal charter operations,” said Ryan Waguespack NATA Senior Vice President. Dave Edwards, CEO, The ACA, stated: “Illegal charter goes against everything our industry works hard to deliver – it increases risk to passengers, damages the reputation of our industry and impacts careers and businesses. By working together with our partner associations around the world, we aim to protect the air charter community and educate passengers, pilots and aircraft owners about the serious consequences of illegal charter.” ABAG Director General and CEO Flavio Pires said “ABAG fully supports any initiative to combat illegal charter! It is a growing concern worldwide! Authorities and Civil Aviation Industry communities must be together in combating the risks posed by illegal charter schemes. Aircraft owners and customers must understand, besides tax consequences, the significant liability since they may not meet the higher standards for proper pilot training and experience, maintenance programs additional requirements, right size insurance coverage and defined operational control of a certificated 135 air charter operator.” “As BAA’s steadfast commitment to aviation safety includes educating and helping our members and the industry understand the risks of illegal charter. Through AsBAA’s initiatives such as our Virtual Safety Summit, Safety Days, and others, members and the industry learn how to perform their due diligence, identify warning signs, and help deter illegal and unsafe flight activities with the aim to uphold the highest standards in the industry.” said Jeff Chiang, Chief Operating Officer, Asian Business Aviation Association. Ali Alnaqbi MEBAA Founding & Executive Chairman stated, “Illegal chartering continues to have a huge negative impact on the business aviation industry worldwide. Unless a global approach is taken to fight to eliminate the illegal chartering, this issue cannot be solved at an individual scale. An international coalition is the need of the hour to put our hands on the routes of illegal chartering and work together to come up with a global constant process to eradicate this issue.” “For over 70 years, NBAA has aided members and the business aviation community by identifying and sharing best practices along with advocating for reasonable and effective safety regulation,” noted National Business Aviation Association Vice President for International and Regulatory Affairs Doug Carr. “We believe this multi-pronged approach to consumer education, along with regulator and supply-chain awareness, will reinforce the safety value of approved charter operators. Carr noted the association has a wealth of resources, including the Aircraft Charter Consumer Guide – updated in 2020 – which helps individuals and businesses become informed consumers”. Going forward, the coalition is committed to upholding the business aviation industry’s highest safety standards and codes of best practice for passengers and crews alike. The coalition looks forward to engaging with and educating regulators, the industry, and public, at all levels, of the risks of these fraudulent activities. (News Shared by European Business Aviation Association)

Jet Wave high-speed satellite Wi-Fi enables passengers to stream seamlessly worldwide Los Angeles—December 8, 2020 Clay Lacy Aviation, an authorized Honeywell Dealer, has installed a Honeywell JetWave Ka-band connectivity hardware system on a Bombardier Global 6000 ultra-long-range jet. The advanced, multi-component JetWave system is the only solution that enables business jets to connect to Inmarsat’s Global Xpress Ka-band network for fast, seamless internet service at any altitude, almost everywhere in the world. International private jet travelers can enjoy high-speed streaming internet speeds on all their devices, participating easily in video conferences, watching movies, sharing video on social media, or sending and receiving large work files. The upgrade was installed at Clay Lacy’s Van Nuys Airport Part 145 Repair Station. “Clay Lacy performed this complex JetWave upgrade on schedule and on budget thanks to their Honeywell and Bombardier expertise,” said Renan Bayar, Captain of the Bombardier Global 6000. Honeywell JetWave for Bombardier Global, Challenger and Dassault Falcon Jets The factory-trained Honeywell experts at Clay Lacy can install the multi-component JetWave hardware system on select Dassault Falcon, Bombardier Global and Bombardier Challenger business jet aircraft. Typical downtime is 30 to 35 days.

Longueuil, Quebec Pratt & Whitney announced that the 50,000th PT6 turboprop engine has rolled off the production line achieving an exceptional milestone in General Aviation. With the new PT6 E-Series engine now in full production, powering the Pilatus PC-12 NGX, the numbers continue to grow. “From the first application more than 50 years ago, the now iconic PT6 engine turns possibilities into realities for our customers around the world on more than 130 different applications today,” said Irene Makris, vice president, sales and marketing at Pratt & Whitney. “With each new model of engine developed and designed for a mission, platform, and customer in mind, our employees continue to build a more efficient, smarter engine with a shrinking environmental footprint– and they continue to rise to the challenge every day.” The PT6 turboprop engine is the proven choice for demanding, high-cycle/high-power applications in single- and twin-engine aircraft for all kinds of missions and applications. The engine fleet’s current flying population is more than 25,000 units and it has accumulated more than 410 million flight hours and counting–that’s more flying time than anyone else in this segment. Makris sees the 50,000-engine marker as the opportunity to pause and thank customers and employees for this remarkable accomplishment. It is a testament to the ongoing success of the engine and the innovation behind its ongoing evolution. The most recent example of this being the launch of the PT6 E-Series™ engine, the first the first turbine engine in the general aviation market to offer a dual-channel integrated electronic propeller and engine control. “This production milestone is unmatched in the industry. It offers us another opportunity to celebrate the engine’s ongoing success as we continue exploring new horizons for even more flying possibilities,” Makris said. “The achievement sits as the collective cornerstone of Pratt & Whitney in General Aviation. With the PT6 E-Series™ engine now at the forefront, we remain committed to pushing innovation as we’ve been doing since the very beginning.”

London, United Kingdom The British Business General Aviation Association (BBGA) has welcomed the UK Government’s revised quarantine rules for bona fide business travellers flying in to do business with the UK. Effective 5 December, eligible business travelers, along with people working in entertainment, news and sports sectors will be exempt from the 14-day COVID-19 quarantine requirements. Senior executives who will generate ‘significant economic benefit’ to the UK through work that ‘has a greater than 50% chance of creating or preserving at least 50 UK-based jobs to an existing UK business with at least 50 employees or to a new UK business within one year of their arrival,’ qualify.   So do those flying in to buy goods/services from a UK business with a minimum 50 employees, through a £100 million upwards contract or one that would create or preserve 50 or more jobs. Sean Raftery, BBGA Board Member and Managing Director of Universal Aviation UK said: “This will help restore confidence for many business travellers looking to do business in the UK and buoys the UK economy as we ready to Brexit.  Since March we saw the enthusiasm for travel among our clients change.  Back then they weren’t as comfortable travelling and the quarantine was business prohibitive. Now they feel much safer in the knowledge that attention and investment has been made disinfecting our FBOs and aircraft and with PCR Covid-19 testing becoming more wildly available at our airports and FBOs.” Our sector is synonymous with resilience and agility. These new exemptions are welcomed as we take steps back to normality,” he added.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) announced the addition of Mustang Aviation and Seattle Aviation Solutions as Members, and NUAIR and Texas UASWERX as Associate Members EPIC. Mustang Aviation is based out of Pierre, South Dakota, and was originally founded in 1990. They provide fixed based operator, charter, maintenance and repair services; flight instruction; and freight and cargo support. Seattle Aviation Services is based out of Redmond, Washington, and was founded in 2017. They are a nose-to-tail material supplier for all business jet applications, including airframe, engines, landing gears, auxiliary power units and avionics. They also provide distribution and management of parts, and repair and overhaul services. NUAIR (Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, Inc.) manages operations of the New York UAS Test Site in Rome, New York, one of seven FAA-designated unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test sites in the United States. NUAIR is responsible for the continued advancement of New York’s Advanced Air Mobility Proving Grounds and 50-mile UAS corridor, which facilitates beyond visual line of sight testing, commercial operations, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft – including vertiport automation, and the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace. Texas UASWERX is a not for profit aeronautical and engineering firm based out of Dallas, Texas. They provide expertise in Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Integration, Systems Engineering and Configuration Management to manufacturers, technology providers and authorities. They operate the nation’s only purpose-built 5G enabled, eVTOL and UAM Proving Ground and Flight Test Facility, which also includes and a Subsonic Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel.