General Business Aviation News

The business aviation community came together for the Special Olympics Airlift this month, celebrating the athletes of the 2022 USA Games. Hundreds of Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker aircraft owners and operators from around the country donated use of their aircraft to ensure athletes from around the country arrived safely and on time for this year’s games. Take a sped up look at the world's largest peacetime airlift effort.

Into baseball? Magellan Jets joins with former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. With former Boston Red Sox hero David Ortiz due to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 24, private aviation solutions provider Magellan Jets has teamed up on a charity contest with the Boston Red Sox Foundation and the David Ortiz Children’s Fund to send one lucky winner and a guest on a private jet to accompany Ortiz, a 10-time all-star and World Series MVP nicknamed “Big Papi,” from Boston on his way to the induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York.

Looks like Canada has a luxury tax that will be implemented for almost all categories of business aircraft being purchased. The proposed luxury tax on certain vehicles—including essentially all new general aviation aircraft purchases— The threshold the tax applies to new cars and aircraft with a retail sales price exceeding $100,000 and to boats exceeding $250,000. It is supposed to go into law on September 1.

General Aviation Manufacturers Association published the second quarter 2022 general aviation aircraft shipment and billing report. The aircraft manufacturing industry’s results for the first six months of 2022, when compared to the same period in 2021, point to increasing deliveries across nearly all aircraft segments along with an increase in the overall value of the aircraft shipments.

NetJets fleet of aircraft is nearing the 1,000 unit mark. By the end of 2023, the fractional ownership company should be able to attain this 'magical' figure as long as they do not get rid of any aircraft. Presently the company flies around 850 jets and the company expects to take delivery of another 25 to 30 planes before the end of this year. Next year the company expects more than 100 jets to be delivered. This year alone 75 would have been delivered to NetJets. They are on target to meet the 1,000 mark in this timeframe.

Oklahoma’s Weatherford Stafford Airport (KOJA) recently held the official reopening of its Gen Av terminal. The reworked project cost approximately $1.6 million dollars and taking 11 months to build in the process. The new facility was needed as the traffic outgrew the old apparatus. The new facility is now approximately 3,479-sq-ft facility which represents a near tripling of the previous terminal area.

The first Boeing 747-8 BBJ and first 747-8 overall to be scrapped is this one. One that was ordered for the Saudi government and had extremely low hours on it, 50! It was apparently dismantled/scrapped yesterday. The aircraft was destined for Saudi Crown Prince Sultan Abdul Aziz but he passed away months before the aircraft was completed in its VVIP status. The aircraft is reportedly N458BJ.

Another VVIP Airbus A350 has been handed over to the German government by Lufthansa Technik. “Theodor Heuss” bears the tactical registration 10+02 and is the third aircraft of this type to be handed over by Lufthansa Technik to the German Armed Forces, following “Kurt Schumacher” (10+03) and “Konrad Adenauer” (10+01). It is further the second A350 to have a full government cabin installed. Thus, 10+03, which for reasons of early availability had only received an interim cabin in 2020, has returned to Lufthansa Technik’s Hamburg headquarters earlier this year. There, it is now also receiving the full government cabin in order to complete the German Airforce's A350 fleet in 2024.