Click for Dassault Click for Embraer Click for HondaJet Click for Cessna Click for YachtForums

General Business Aviation News

Discussion in 'Commercial & General Aviation' started by Jet News, Sep 19, 2012.

  1. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    Wow, thanks for the exhaustive reply Gogglezon! Good participation!
  2. gogglezon

    gogglezon Member

    Joined:
    May 6, 2013
    Messages:
    59
  3. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    Image not showing gogglezon.
  4. gogglezon

    gogglezon Member

    Joined:
    May 6, 2013
    Messages:
    59
    Apologies, I tried it on two unconnected PCs and it worked, so wasn't loading from a cache. Please delete it if you wish. A pity as it shows virtually every switch in the cockpit with their text very clearly legible.
  5. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
  6. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. today launched 24-Hour Support, an iPhone- and iPad-compatible application that provides customers with fingertip access to Gulfstream’s worldwide product support network. “Our 24-Hour Support app offers fast and easy access to the contact information our customers need anywhere they’re located, at any time of the day,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream Product Support. “It is particularly useful for aircraft-on-ground situations. Paper or a PDF file is not necessary anymore. With one touch, you are connected to Gulfstream Product Support and on your way to getting the assistance you need.”

    The 24-Hour Support app, which will be updated regularly, is a comprehensive source for direct access to Gulfstream Technical Operations, 19 company-owned and authorized service centers, 13 company-authorized warranty facilities, 43 field service representatives, Spare Part Sales, and other key contacts. The app includes phone and fax numbers, email addresses, location information and operating hours. The 24-Hour Support app can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store. After the initial download, the app is accessible with or without an Internet connection.
  7. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
  8. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
  9. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    The number of accidents involving business jets increased in 2012, after a particularly bad year for US-registered jets, according to results published by aircraft accident analysts Robert E. Breiling Associates. These six accidents resulted in 25 fatalities, according to aviation data provider, Ascend, which was up from 16 last year.

    The fatalities were on Gulfstream IV in the Congo where 4 persons perished, a Cessna Citation X in Germany where 5 died. There was a Cessna Citation 1/SP that killed 5 in the U.S. There was another GIV from Gulfstream killing 3 in France, a Citation I killing 2 persons in Spain as well as a Learjet 25 claiming the lives of 7 in Mexico.
  10. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    Brazil's Government listens to the Business Aviation Sector's Call for Action

    The business aviation community in Brazil believes the government is finally paying attention to its calls for better access to correct and up-to-date infrastructure. Though that is good news, the sector is still feeling the threat and pinch from airline activity. The warning came from Eduardo Marson, chairman of industry group ABAG, during a keynote address at the opening session at LABACE 2013.
  11. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
  12. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    VistaJet has finally addressed the so-called 'missing link' in its global private jet charter company, launching an expansion into the US market with 12 Bombardier Global business jets that will be operated and managed by Jet Aviation and sold on a block-hour basis by start-up company Wheels Up.
  13. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    Private jet operator VistaJet will take on its Warren Buffet-owned rival in the United States next year before turning attention to the Chinese market, the company's founder and chairman Thomas Flohr said. "We're in talks about setting up in China and we're on track to get an airline operating certificate for China in the first quarter of 2014," Flohr, who founded Zurich-based VistaJet in 2004 and remains the privately-held firm's sole shareholder, told Reuters news agency. "China could be huge for us but I'm concentrating on getting the US up and running properly first."

    The company, which offers long-haul flights at hourly rates across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and West Africa, will launch its US fleet of long-range Bombardier business jets next March to be operated and managed by General Dynamics unit Jet Aviation. However, VistaJet, which also has a major office in London, faces serious competition in the United States from market leader NetJets, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. NetJet users are required to own stakes in the aircraft they use but VistaJet's Flohr believes his clients - companies and individuals from Russian oligarchs to Chinese entrepreneurs - now prefer to pay by the hour, avoiding the investment risk.

    "The financial crisis helped us. People had been buying private jets and seeing their value declining so we had people coming to us saying 'give us stability, a cost per hour and no asset risk', and they continue to do that today," the German-born Flohr said. "For us the US was the missing link. There are some 10,000 business jets in the US compared to 8,000 in the rest of the world so the move will be transformational for us."

    VistaJet reported a 25 percent rise in 2012 revenue to around USD$400 million. NetJets has revenue of around USD$2 billion a year. Investment bank JPMorgan said in a recent note that the business jet market remained "highly mixed" with a recovery in large-cabin jets, such as those used by VistaJet, being offset by sluggish sales at the smaller end. Bombardier believes the business aviation market will be worth around USD$270 billion between 2013 and 2022. VistaJet carried 25,000 passengers on 10,000 individual flights. This growth rate could top 30 percent once its US operation is up and running, said Flohr, who is also in talks about entering India.

    VistaJet, whose fleet currently consists of 35 Bombardier business jets, has had no trouble accessing finance to expand since the 2008 financial crisis, according to Flohr, who, as yet, is not keen to pursue a flotation of the business. "Right now I enjoy owning 100 percent of the company, which allows me to be decisive and quick to take advantage of opportunities," he said. "We've had conversations with banks and institutions about the idea and maybe it could happen at some point but not imminently."

    (Reuters)
  14. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    ConnectJets which is Piaggio's new Avanti II dealership for the England and Ireland - is planning to set up a shared ownership programme for the twin-engined turboprop, following customer demand. "We are looking at developing a bespoke club with a simple, low-cost pricing structure for Avanti II customers," says ConnectJets founder and managing director Gabriella Somerville. "We are working it out now and hope to reveal the details before the end of the year."
  15. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has seen its Russia-based business-jet fleet grow more than sixfold in the last six years. Today, the first day of the three-day Jet Expo 2013 event in Moscow, Gulfstream announced there are 53 customer-operated aircraft in Russia and a combined 76 in Russia and the wider Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 2007, those numbers were eight and 11, respectively.

    “The Gulfstream brand is very strong in Russia,” said Larry Flynn, president, Gulfstream. “We sold our first aircraft to a Russian customer in 2002 and have experienced remarkable growth since then. We have the biggest market share in the large-cabin segment, but we’ve also had success with sales of our mid-cabin models. The recent opening of our sales and design center in London is a direct result of strong customer response in Russia and other parts of Europe.” More than a quarter of Gulfstream’s European fleet is in Russia. Surrounding countries, including CIS members Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, also are home to multiple Gulfstream operators. To support the growing fleet in Russia and the CIS, Gulfstream has more than $120 million in parts and materials inventory at three European locations — Luton, England; Madrid; and Basel, Switzerland.

    The Gulfstream Luton facility, which has nearly 190 employees, is a major resource for Russian and many Eastern European operators. Earlier this year, the site earned certification to work on Gulfstream aircraft registered in Azerbaijan. Gulfstream Luton has maintenance approvals from several other civil aviation authorities, including the United States and European Union. Its technicians also support Russia and CIS operators by traveling to their aircraft’s location. Additionally, Gulfstream has rapid-response Field and Airborne Support Teams (FAST) maintenance technicians in Ukraine, France, Greece and Switzerland, who are dispatched by airplane, train, van and automobile to reach customers in the field. Gulfstream Product Support has personnel and authorized facilities in Moscow to assist Russia-based operators. Bruce Fleming serves as a Gulfstream field representative, and Jet Aviation at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport is a Gulfstream-authorized facility that supports the Gulfstream mid-cabin, GIV/GV series and GII/GIII aircraft with line and light maintenance.
  16. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    Go farther. New winglets increase the new Citation Sovereign’s range to 3,000nm.

    http://ow.ly/i/3b2CR
  17. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    Jet Aviation Basel preps for B787 VVIP completions. Is this one of the first 787s to be turned into a private/business platform?
  18. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    ExecuJet Europe is expected to launch commercial helicopter charter operations from the company’s London Cambridge FBO later in the year. The company’s managed fleet already includes two top-of-the-line Eurocopter EC155 aircraft, based at Cambridge Airport, with an additional two contracts in the final stages of negotiation.
  19. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    VIP charter operator GainJet Aviation has acquired a corporate airliner to add to its fleet. The VIP Boeing 737-400 (with a total of 68 seats) was delivered on 22 September to GainJet’s Athens HQs where it will be added to the GainJet Air Operator Certificate. Once the paperwork is completed, it will be repositioned to Manchester Airport in the UK where it will be available for charter from 28 September and ready for its first client booking when an international football team will benefit from the new spacious and comfortable configuration.
  20. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    Messages:
    17,699
    Flexjet, the corporate jet leasing company, plans to add up to 50 long-haul aircraft to its fleet in a potential USD$3.2 billion deal that could mark its first use of Gulfstream aircraft, as a change in Flexjet's ownership may wean it from Bombardier jets. Earlier this month, Bombardier agreed to sell its Flexjet unit, a move that will give Flexjet more flexibility in the types of aircraft it buys. "Currently, Flexjet does not have a global Gulfstream 650 type aircraft in our fleet, so we are looking at purchasing that type of aircraft into our fleet in the near future," Flexjet president Deanna White told Reuters news agency. Gulfstream's G650 jet sells for around USD$65 million. Bombardier's Global fleet, which typically competes with the shorter-range Gulfstream 550, goes for around USD$40 million for the Global 5000 to USD$52 million for the XRS.

    Bombardier is working on its next generation Global fleet: the 7000 is expected to fly in 2016. Flexjet was started in 1995 by Bombardier as a captive customer for its business aircraft, which includes Learjets and Challengers. Bombardier agreed early in September to sell the company to Directional Aviation, opening the door for Flexjet to purchase non-Bombardier aircraft. The USD$185 million sale came with an order from Flexjet for up to 245 Bombardier business jets, worth USD$5.2 billion at list prices.

    The order for long-haul jets would be in addition to those, adding to Flexjet's current fleet of 80 planes capable of short and medium-haul flights. White said improvement in the US economy is prompting Flexjet to focus on a growing demand among its customers for international travel. Flexjet has long been number two in market share to NetJets - which is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Netjets' fleet includes the Gulfstream G550 and Bombardier's Global 6000, both of which are capable of flying long distances.

    Ohio-based Directional Aviation, headed by Kenn Ricci, owns a group of companies in the aviation business. Ricci told Reuters that Flexjet plans an initial order of between 25 to 50 long-haul planes in 2014. "If we make the orders early next year, it'd be about 18-24 months before we can begin service," Ricci said. White and Ricci each said Flexjet was looking at products from both Bombardier and Gulfstream, but neither would say if the company was in advanced talks with either plane maker. Bombardier did not respond to calls and email for comment. Gulfstream spokesman Steve Cass said the company could neither deny nor confirm a potential deal with Flexjet.

    White, who has been asked to continue to lead the Flexjet team after the deal closes, said Flexjet's domestic business has grown since the Dow Jones industrial average first hit 15,000 in May, prompting corporations to spend more on luxury products. "There is demand and uptick in emerging markets and you see businesses going into emerging markets, someone has to take them there. Our business is growing as our clients expand into these markets," White said, adding that expansion was greatest in Asia, South America, the Middle East and in parts of Europe.

    (Reuters)