General Business Aviation News

Nextant debuted at the Dubai AirShow recently trying to tap into the Middle-Eastern market. For those who are not familiar with Nextant...

Nextant is a Cleveland, Ohio-based firm that was launched three years ago to offer a remanufactured version of the out-of-production Beechjet 400A/XPs with new Williams FJ44-3AP engines and Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics. “We effectively zero time the aircraft,” says president Sean McGeough.

NetJets to enhance medical diagnostics of Signature series.

Munich, Germany-based charter company MHS Aviation has added an Embraer Phenom 100 to its fleet, marking another step in the growth strategy of the company.

“With this new aircraft arriving, we will fill a gap in the lower end of our fleet,” says MHS Aviation’s CCO Stefan Buschle. “This new jet is perfect for business travelers looking for a time-saving and comfortable option to reach smaller European airports. This aircraft offers a lot of benefits for a relatively low budget”.

Chinese officials going on business overseas will no longer be able to charter planes or fly in private or corporate jets, guidelines announced on Friday said, part of a broad government crackdown on corruption and waste. The rules also require strict limits on the number of people sent on trips and the number of days spent abroad. Provincial-level officials are permitted to stay in hotel suites, while bureau-level officials are allowed to stay in standard rooms.

"Without exception, any excuse or method for exchanging gifts or souvenirs is not allowed," a statement on the Finance Ministry's website said. "It is strictly forbidden to accept, or covertly accept, subsidies from industry units, and strictly forbidden to shift or allot travel expenses to organisations abroad, subsidiary units or companies."

Chinese newspapers frequently report on cases of government officials making spurious trips abroad on the public purse, ostensibly for work when in reality they are going on holiday or engaging in shopping sprees. Since taking over the reins of the Communist Party in November 2012 and the government in March, President Xi Jinping has vowed to crack down on corruption, which he has said threatens the party's survival. The government has gone after everything from bribery to gift giving and lavish banquets as it seeks to assuage public anger at widespread graft and the extravagant behaviour of some officials.

(Reuters)

Ferraris and Rolls-Royces have become common sights in China's cities as a new class of super-rich indulge a growing appetite for luxury, but tight regulation has meant the private jet, the ultimate status symbol of the global elite, remains rare. Recent rules changes, however, indicate that China is preparing to open its skies to private aircraft, in a move that may herald the greatest expansion of business and private aviation in the last 30 years. Last month, China's aviation regulator simplified flight approval procedures for private aircraft and lowered the threshold for obtaining a private pilot license.

More importantly, the implementation of little-noticed guidelines issued by China's State Council and the Central Military Commission in 2010 will gradually lift the ceiling for low-flying aircraft by 2020. For companies such as Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault and Gulfstream, which have spent the last decade trying to build their China business, it may present a unique opportunity to expand in the world's fastest-growing aviation market.

"This tells everyone publicly that China now endorses the use of business aircraft and general aviation just like other countries worldwide," Roger Sperry, Gulfstream's senior vice president of international sales, told Reuters news agency. "I'm nothing but optimistic." General aviation, which refers to all flights that are not operated by airlines, charter firms or the military, is already a USD$150 billion business in the United States. In contrast, there are only 1,610 registered general aviation aircraft in China, the latest figures from the China General Aviation Association show. That compares with about 228,000 in the United States, according to Craig Spence, secretary general of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations.

Business aircraft manufacturers are preparing to deliver a wave of new products into a market still showing no bankable signs of recovering from its prolonged collapse after the 2008 global economic crisis. It is a tense moment for an industry that has traditionally stimulated itself out of downturns by launching new aircraft and upgrades.

For the manufacturers of larger business jets, which have come through the recession relatively unscathed, the new aircraft will keep the orders flowing. For the makers of lighter jets, which have been hit hard by the downturn, there will be a bump up from the backlog, but they will be looking for a solid recovery before that reserve of orders is exhausted. (AW)

Luxembourg-based business aviation group Luxaviation has taken a further step into expansion only half a year after its acquisition of Belgian aviation service provider Abelag. Today, the company has acquired French operator Unijet through its Belgian subsidiary. Unijet’s location at Paris Le Bourget (LBG) grants the group with access to one of Europe’s dedicated business aviation airports.

The acquisition increases the number of working staff to 350 and 60 operating business jets, of which one third are long-range aircraft distributed throughout the group’s network in the Benelux (Luxaviation, Abelag), Germany (FlairJet) and now France (Unijet). The group also sees prospects of pooling operational services of its subsidiaries due to both Abelag and Unijet’s deep roots in the business aviation sector. (FC)

NTSB's 2014 'Most Wanted' List Includes Items That Apply to Business Aviation

http://www.nbaa.org/ops/safety/20140117-ntsb-2014-most-wanted-list-includes-items-that-apply-to-business-aviation.php

VistaJet’s founding father Thomas Flohr has completed a $206 million pre-delivery payment for ten Bombardier Challenger 605s with Aviation Finance Company. Flohr closed the payment through IALT, a business aircraft leasing company he himself has founded. This pre-delivery payment announces the commencement of the actual construction of the ordered aircraft.

The undisclosed customer for the firm order of 38 Bombardier business jets - ten Challenger 605s and 28 Globals - made at the end of last year and valued at $2.2 billion, has thus been identified as IALT. The first aircraft will be leased to VistaJet - a strong, but understandable move for Flohr, who has a successful background in computer leasing before founding VistaJet in 2004. (Jason Zappa Janse FC)

If you want an in depth preview on how the new Cessna Citation Longitude will look...

http://www.cessna.com/citation/longitude

Business Jet company Wheels Up has been expanding especially with Jet Aviation.

Aircraft in Jet Aviation’s fleet ranging from midsize Cessna Citation Excel, Hawker 800XP and super midsize Cessna Citation X, Gulfstream G200 to large Bombardier Challenger 605 and Gulfstream G450 aircraft are now available for use with Wheels Up’s member base.

From Rockwell Collins today...

Our new personal tablet mount seamlessly integrates iPads and Galaxy Tabs into bizjet cabins

ExecuJet Europe adds three jets to fleet. Two state-of-the-art Gulfstream G650s and one Bombardier Global 5000.

Fractional aircraft share sales strengthened in 2013 for NetJets, leading the fractional ownership provider to a 7.5% increase in revenues and a 7% improvement in earnings, NetJets parent Berkshire Hathaway reports. NetJets’ increase in revenues was slightly behind other businesses in Berkshire Hathaway’s “other service” group, which also includes FlightSafety International, TTI, Business Wire and Dairy Queen, among others. The businesses reported in that group collective contributed to a 10% increase in revenues to $9 billion in 2013. (AW)

Flying Colours, the luxury completions center increases deliveries in the Africa region.

Pre-owned Business jet prices saw a 1.9% MOM increase in March, according to JP Morgan’s monthly report “thestrongest in over a year and only the second sequential increase greater than 1% since the start of 2013.”

The Universal Towing office in Port Orange, Florida, got an unusual call over the weekend. The company was asked to retrieve a Cessna Citation CJ3 business jet out of a pond adjacent to the Spruce Creek Airport in Port Orange, Florida. The pond lies at the bottom of a short grassy embankment at the end of the 4,000-foot paved runway. (Flying)

Business aircraft are taking to the skies again as many economies around the world improve, but a surplus of aircraft delivered just before the recession means the equivalent of 2,750 jets remain parked in hangars. An excess of aircraft is depressing prices for planes, particularly older ones, and clouding the outlook for manufacturers of new jets, such as Bombardier, Gulfstream and Cessna. Some companies are cutting back on corporate jet travel and reducing executives' use of corporate jets for personal trips. With so many jets not being flown, businesses are finding it more difficult to justify new purchases, said Rolland Vincent, president of Rolland Vincent Associates, a jet consulting firm that works with New York-based JetNet. "It's like having a lot of cars in your driveway," Vincent said. "If you don't use them that much, you're not going to be out shopping for another one."

The recovery in business flying is uneven around the world, and prone to setbacks. A global survey of private aircraft, including helicopters and charters, showed a 2 percent decline in the hours flown in the first quarter, from a year ago. Flight hours in Asia, Europe and the Middle East rose in the past year to March, but declined in the United States and Latin America, according to the survey by Jet Support Services, a Chicago-based company that supplies service and support for aircraft. The harsh US winter played a big role in depressing demand for flying, while political issues in Eastern Europe and slower economic growth in Asia affected flying in those regions, JSSI said.

But demand should "bounce back" in the spring, said Neil Book, chief executive of JSSI. "As the overall economy ramps up, we expect to see overall flight hours increase more quickly," he said. Indeed, the longer term trend in operations tracked by the Federal Aviation Administration shows US flying steadily picking up. In the United States, which is by far the largest business-aircraft market, business jet flights rose about 3.4 percent in the 12 months to March, according to the FAA's tracking of takeoffs and landings. That's a sharp upswing from the prior 12-month period, when flights rose only about 0.3 percent.

But because the industry was delivering jets at a high rate from 2005 to 2009, the amount of flight time per plane remains well below the peak of 2007, just before the financial crisis. Some companies are throttling back on personal plane use, or shifting to less expensive options than owning, including new "club membership" plans that don't involve capital outlays that can cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars annually. Several S&P 500 companies said in recent filings that they have set limits on executive use of corporate jets. Many already require executives to reimburse the company for personal use of the plane beyond a set limit of hours or dollars. Some companies also said they are leasing jets or using fractional ownership plans, rather than owning planes outright.

(Reuters)

With the number of billionaires in the Middle East forecast to grow from some 150 in 2007 to around 220 in 2017, it is more important than ever for those doing business with them to have a greater understanding of their purchasing patterns. A new study provides some new insights. One of the findings is that when billionaires travel, they want to take their lifestyle into the air, and that often means travelling with an entourage – such as those looking after them and advising them on the ground - which already understands their needs and preferences. Giving wings to their lifestyle, whether it be work, rest or play, is important to billionaires because it helps them to make the best use of their time - as well as making their travel more comfortable.

“Airbus corporate jets enable larger groups to take their business and social activity into the air, because their wider, taller and more spacious cabins allow them to carry more people, in more comfort, than any other business jet,” points out Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers John Leahy. “Company executives, family groups and government delegations are more easily accommodated in Airbus corporate jets, because they provide the room for them to continue doing in the sky what they would want to do on the ground,” he adds.

The study found that billionaires in the Middle East favour travel to Europe, including the Mediterranean, which can be reached in flights of just a few hours. It also showed that differences in billionaires’ buying behaviour can be explained by variations in age, how long they have possessed wealth, and their geographic region. Billionaires in the Middle East have an average age of 61, for example, and tend to be focused on passing on their attitudes and values, as well as their wealth. The study also found that luxury still has a meaning for billionaires, but that it is mostly about having products and services tailored to their needs and making the best use of their time. Airbus offers a complete range of business jets, all derived from the world’s most modern aircraft family, comfortably seating 19 to more than 100 passengers.

Custom Paint Job for this Bombardier Global 5000 business jet by Duncan Aviation...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MACIXjqdmjU