NBAA 2017: 'A strong, meaningful show'
The National Business Aviation
Association brought its 2017 Business
Aviation Convention & Exhibition to a
close on Thursday with organizers
reporting an all-around success,
highlighting the strength of the
industry, the host community of Las
Vegas and the association, on its 70th
anniversary.
“This
year’s show was special in many ways,”
said NBAA President and CEO
Ed
Bolen.
“We celebrated NBAA’s 70th anniversary,
and how our industry is stronger when we
work together. We gathered in the
company of aviation leaders and legends,
like Capt. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger and
Capt. Jim Lovell. We saw the launch of
exciting new products, and we brought a
citywide convention to Las Vegas, which
the city welcomed with open arms.”
Bolen said that with this year’s
convention, NBAA hoped to “make Las
Vegas proud, just as Las Vegas has made
America proud.”
Before the launch of the show, NBAA
Charities made a $10,000 contribution to
the Las Vegas Victims Fund, and
throughout the event, the association
encouraged show participants to
contribute to the fund as well. During
the show’s opening session, local
leaders welcomed attendees, saying “with
all of you, our city will continue to be
Las Vegas strong.”
read more
Judge terminates TRO at Santa Monica;
NBAA continues pursuing legal options
Aircraft operators utilizing
California’s Santa Monica Municipal
Airport (SMO) will soon need to prepare
for runway closures and construction, as
a District Court judge denied a
preliminary injunction and dissolved a
temporary restraining order (TRO) to
halt the city’s planned runway-reduction
project.
The City of Santa Monica has been
authorized to reduce the length of SMO’s
sole runway under the terms of a unique,
highly unusual settlement agreement with
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
announced in January of this year.
Construction is expected to kick off on
Oct. 23. In Phase 1, the airport will be
closed to all aircraft, including
helicopters, nightly from 9 p.m. to 7
a.m. local time, Monday through Friday,
while the project is undertaken.
During Phase 2 of the city’s plan, dates
for which are still being finalized, SMO
will be closed entirely for
approximately 10 consecutive days. The
airport will operate with a 4,973 ft.
length runway through Phase 1 and will
re-open at the end of Phase 2 with the
shortened, 3,500 ft., runway. NBAA
members and other operators will need to
check NOTAMs regularly and plan
accordingly.
read more
Bombardier inaugurates newly expanded
interior facility in Tucson
Bombardier has announced the opening of
its new purposefully designed interior
facility at its Tucson Service Centre.
The facility features a fully
climate-controlled work environment and
expanded capacity, regrouping its
interior design expertise and talent in
one atelier. In addition, the meticulous
state-of-the-art cabinet workshop has
tripled its footprint from 1,092 square
feet to 4,800 square feet, and will
complement existing seat and divan
upholstery fabrication areas.
"We are
thrilled to expand our interior facility
and capacity in Tucson, offering
Bombardier business aircraft operators
greater selection and convenience, all
backed by our unparalleled OEM
know-how," said
Jean-Christophe Gallagher,
Vice President and General Manager,
Customer Experience, Bombardier Business
Aircraft. "The extensive capabilities of
the Tucson Service Centre and its prime
location offer flexibility and expertise
for Bombardier business aircraft
operators, all to keep their aircraft
flying with minimal downtime and
interruptions while maximizing their
bottom line."
read more
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Connecting at NBAA17
Ashley Bowen Cook,
vice president at Greteman Group, a marketing communications agency based in Wichita,
the Air Capital. |
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ur
base in the Air Capital led us to aviation. But it’s the people who tie us to
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unique industry. |
Jet-setting entrepreneurs turning ideas into
deals. Pilots whose hands twitch when too long from the yoke. Technicians who
thrive on the precision required by every aircraft interaction. Sales directors
who spout the math that makes an aircraft work on a balance sheet, but then tell
you the real reason you gotta have that jet, that prop, that helicopter.
Analysts who digest data like dinner.
Nothing reminds us of this more than our
annual pilgrimage to the Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE).
For us, it’s a family reunion made richer by introductions to new members.
We hitched our 15th ride with longtime private
aviation user and advocate Jack DeBoer. As we landed at McCarran International,
we taxied past Mandalay Bay. There, only nine days earlier, a killer claimed the
lives of 58 people and injured almost 500 others. Throughout the show, we were
touched by visual and verbal expressions of sympathy and support.
Again, this is
a convention that promotes hardware and services, but at its heart, it’s about
people. How they live. How they interact. How they succeed.
read more
VistaJet's US customer base trebles -
reinforcing its commanding position in
the market
VistaJet, the first and only global
aviation company, has announced a set of
results that highlights the significant
progress made in the US throughout the
third quarter ending September 30, 2017.
Driving the growth is the company’s
flagship Program Membership, registering
three times more clients year over year,
resulting in a 146% increase in Program
hours. Moreover, flight hours sold to
Program members grew significantly over
the period with an increase of 210%
compared to Q3 ’16. In addition to
VistaJet’s marked rise in new US
passengers, 45% of those who joined as
Program customers have gone on to
increase the total number of hours
flown.
VistaJet's Q3 announcement reinforces
the global trend of individuals and
corporations moving away from aircraft
ownership as they look to shed costs and
asset risks, but not the comfort,
convenience and benefits of private
aviation. Following the $150m investment
from Rhône Capital - which now values
VistaJet in excess of $2.5bn - the
company is well positioned to conquer
even more fractional and full aircraft
owners in the US market, by offering
global coverage, consistent unparalleled
quality and maximum efficiency.
read more
MSB
manufactures first up-lit crystal
stowage system in aircraft galleys
North America-based precision
engineering company MSB Design is
introducing a first of a kind, up-lit
crystal glass rack holder to light up
aircraft galleys.
The new product has been developed by
the MSB Design engineers for the
Gulfstream G500 galley to provide a
robust stowage system for valuable
crystal and glassware, whilst at the
same time providing an elegant, subtle
new source of lighting. The holder will
be on display at this year’s NBAA on the
Gulfstream G500 at Henderson Executive
Airport.
The intelligently designed transparent
galley racks are made of aerospace grade
polycarbonate material, and plated
components, which ensure valuable
crystal and glassware is securely
stowed. With the addition of the low
voltage LED up-lighting, an elegant glow
is emitted through the translucent
units.
read more
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Mary Baffour
Mainstream Aviation, Ghana, has
appointed Mary Baffour as Business Development Manager.
Mary was previously Country
Manager for Ghana with an oversight role for Abuja, Nigeria.
Mainstream CEO,
Captain Ladi Odulaja,
said, "We have several major development projects underway at our Accra station
and I feel that Mary is the right person to drive them to a successful
conclusion.
"Mary
will be in contact will operators, aviation managers, chief pilots, and trip
support service providers over the next few months to brief them on our
progress and will be present at the African Air Show, Exhibition & Conference
2017 in October in Accra, and EBACE in Geneva next May. |
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This week . .
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We're at NBAA17 in
Las Vegas for what we consider to be the most positive show in a long time.
Kenny Dichter explains the WheelsUp
business model and Piaggio America CEO
Michael Hissam discusses why, as a
pilot and passenger, the Avanti Evo works so well for him.
Great news from Stellar
Labs chief David Fox
and investor Dean Donovan
on why the firm just attracted $26.3m for its operating platform, plus comments
from Gama's CEO Pete Bunce,
Tom Aniello,
VP Marketing, Pilatus and P&WC's
Nicholas Kanellias.
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Mark Briffa,
CEO of Air Partner, discusses the Company's current performance, the
success of its industry-leading JetCard, the emergence of online
brokers and Air Partner's plans for the future. |
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How is your Private Jets
division performing at the moment?
In the first half of the
financial year, our Private Jets division reported a slight gross profit
increase year-on-year. During the period, we continued to invest in our Private
Jets team across the globe to ensure we meet client demand and exceed our
clients’ expectations. In the US, where we have also expanded our New York
office, we are already seeing the results: there has been a sharp increase in
corporate and high net worth individual business and overall client numbers are
up nearly 70%.
What triggered your
decision to target the US?
We
have been an established US business for over 20 years now, but there are still
opportunities that we can capitalise on. We believe that there is strong demand
in the region for our product offering, as well as our exceptional client
service. We are seeing strong interest in the Air Partner JetCard from
businesses in particular, as there is no limit to the number of users that can
be linked to a corporate account, which further adds to its flexibility. North
America is the biggest private jet market in the world and we are committed to
taking more of this share.
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In
the first of a new series of articles that will discuss
connectivity from nose to tail, Satcom Direct's Chief
Commercial Officer,
Chris Moore,
sets the scene . . . .
The evolving needs of
connecting business aviation |
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t is twenty
years since Satcom Direct launched from a beach house in
Florida, appropriately located at Satellite Beach. |
At that point in
time, air to ground communications systems were rudimentary.
Budgeting and management of connections were complicated. A caller
would have to establish where an aircraft was in the world, and then
look up several corresponding numbers, before eventually dialling a
15- to 20-digit number to reach the aircraft.
Jim Jensen, the founder
of Satcom Direct recognised the value it would bring to flight
departments and operators, if each aircraft had its own unique
number which could be called directly, no matter where it was in the
world. Enter Global One Number, business aviation’s first service
that made direct dialling to an aircraft-in-flight, a reality.
read more |
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Jetex and CFLY
Aviation to develop first private terminal at Guarulhos International Airport
Jetex Flight Support and
Brazilian operator CFLY Aviation have won a tender to develop and manage a new
private terminal and FBO at São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport (GRU/SBGR),
Brazil, over the next 15 years.
The
new partnership venture reflects the growing importance of business aviation in
the region, and further extends Jetex’s footprint in Latin America which
currently encompasses Toluca, Mexico and Santiago, Chile.
read more |
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Let Us Encourage The Changes
In a welcome return to BlueSky,
Terry Drinkard
issues a Call to Action for a more environmentally sustainable aviation
industry. |
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hile
the conservatives of the United States are still in denial about anthropomorphic
climate change, the rest of us are painfully aware of the serious and
significant changes in, |
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say, the
violence and
frequency of
hurricanes,
to pick an
issue at
random. |
The trend is clear and it's not pretty. The
sooner we humans get our house in order, the sooner we can return to the
climates of our forefathers and foremothers. Is “foremothers” even a word? It
should be.
I believe we in aviation need to
start an annual award to recognize those who have made contributions to making
aviation more environmentally sustainable with lower embedded energy materials,
smaller carbon footprints, Green facilities, and the like.
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Embraer launches the new Phenom 300E business jet |
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Revolutionary
interior design and industry-leading IFE and cabin management
system. |
Embraer unveiled the Phenom 300E
light jet, its newest business aircraft, during a press conference at the 2017
National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Conference and
Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The
new aircraft is designated “E” for “Enhanced” in reference to its entirely
redesigned cabin and the addition of nice HD CMS/IFE (Cabin Management System/InFlight
Entertainment) by Lufthansa Technik.
read
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Comlux
Completion
has been awarded the cabin outfitting contract of
the first BBJ MAX 8 aircraft, for an undisclosed customer. The aircraft will
input into Comlux Indianapolis facilities in 4th quarter 2018, for redelivery by
fall 2019.
“Since 2008, Comlux has continuously performed
the most customized, engineered and luxurious cabin completions. Almost 10 years
later, we are honored to be selected by the first customer of the BBJ MAX 8
program to complete their future aircraft” said
Scott Meyer,
CEO Comlux Completion. “The first MAX 8 signature together with the neo cabin
contract signed in August are paving the way for establishing Comlux as a leader
in the VIP completion market and for building a bright future for our company
and its employees.” |
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Flying Colours Corp KSUS begins first
phase of expansion at St. Louis facility
Flying Colours has announced that the
third phase of the Canadian company’s
long-term expansion strategy has begun
as work is under way on the first round
of infrastructure development at its St.
Louis, MO. facility.
The project will include the addition of
a new building, the upgrading of several
back shops, a doubling in size of the
cabinetry workshop and a workforce
growth of 30%.
The new Flying Colours KSUS edifice is
conveniently located at the end of the
Spirit of St. Louis Airport runway, and
gives easy access to the existing Flying
Colours hangars. When the doors open in
mid-December, a further 40 300 square
feet will be added to the Flying Colours
Corp. north American footprint.
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Centre for the future of aerospace opens
at Cranfield
The £35m Aerospace Integration Research
Centre (AIRC), which is set to change
the way the world thinks about flight,
has been officially opened at Cranfield
University.
Funded by Airbus, Rolls-Royce and
Cranfield University, following an award
from the Higher Education Funding
Council for England (HEFCE), the Centre
will be a flagship facility for boosting
aerospace research capabilities in the
UK, cementing the University’s
reputation as the leading aerospace
research institution in Europe.
Researchers from both the University and
business partners, including Airbus and
Rolls-Royce, will work under one roof.
The Centre will be researching ways of
integrating advanced technologies to
reduce the time from academic innovation
to industrial application.
To enable this, the AIRC is equipped
with the latest cutting-edge aerospace
research technology including air
traffic management (ATM) and unmanned
aerial vehicle (UAV) laboratories;
flight simulators; a virtual wind
tunnel; a FANUC robot in the intelligent
automation centre; and a 1500 sq m open
space work area, currently housing a
full-size wing from an Airbus plane.
read more
PayNode partners with WorldFirst to
improve bank payments for brokers and
operators
PayNode, the world’s first online
payment platform created for business
aviation, is forging a partnership with
international payments specialist
WorldFirst to improve bank wire transfer
payments for charter brokers and
operators.
PayNode’s new bank payment solution,
being developed with WorldFirst and
Multi Service Technology Solutions, will
begin beta testing in the fourth quarter
of 2017. It will become the third
payment option offered by PayNode, whose
processing solutions for American
Express and AvCard payment cards have
been adopted by more than 100 US and
European brokers and operators since
PayNode’s launch at NBAA 2016.
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Paynode MD, Magnus
Henriksson |
PayNode’s latest solution will
significantly improve the cross-border,
cross-currency wire transfer payments
that are common in business aviation.
read more
Daher rolls-out the 200th TBM 900-series
very fast turboprop
Daher has announced the roll-out of its
200th TBM 900-series very fast turboprop
aircraft since the introduction of this
upgraded family in March 2014.
The milestone airplane, serial number
1200, is a TBM 910 version to be
received this week by Cutter Aviation in
San Antonio - a Daher-authorized TBM
distributor for the U.S. states of
Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas,
Kansas and Missouri.
Daher’s TBM 900 family - its sixth
evolution from the original TBM 700
configuration - is the latest evolution
of the company’s very fast turboprop
concept, offered today in two production
versions: the TBM 930, with Garmin’s
G3000 integrated flight deck and touch
screen controls; and the TBM 910, with
Garmin next-generation G1000 NXi
avionics technology replacing the
original G1000 avionics suite.
read more
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Paula Kraft,
founder and President of Atlanta, GA-based Tastefully
Yours Catering and founding partner of the DaVinci Inflight
Training Institute
located in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida.
Casseroles:
The Perfect Food for Aviation
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an you feel it in the air? Fall, one of my favorite times of the year. |
With fall's
unpredictable weather - sunny and warm one minute, blustery and cold the next - a casserole will prove to be the perfect autumn and winter meal, or even a savory side
dish for your next trip.
Fit for either passenger or crew, this one dish meal makes sense for aviation. Your food source
can package it into individual casserole dishes that can go from the oven to the plate, or sent
bulk so you can serve multiple passengers from one container.
A casserole is both a cooking vessel and a
food, a double meaning and somewhat confusing.
The cooking vessel version is
used to cook raw food, but, the food meaning has come to be known as a self -serve one
dish meal.
As it turns out, casseroles are one of the best meal or side dishes to serve on board an aircraft.
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Stobart Jet Centre to launch at London
Southend Airport
Stobart Aviation, part of the Stobart
Group, has announced that it will be
launching a major new executive jet FBO
- 'The Stobart Jet Centre' - at London
Southend Airport, UK.
The new centre will replace the existing
much smaller facility and is due to
reopen in November 2017. The Stobart Jet
Centre will deliver a major boost to the
capacity available for private flights
into London, Europe’s busiest city for
private aviation. The centre is expected
to cater for 5,000 flights per year by
2022.
Speaking
at the NBAA Business Aviation Convention
& Exhibition in Las Vegas,
Stephen Grimes,
Managing Director, Stobart Jet Centre
Limited, said, “Convenience, speed and
comfort are absolutely vital to the
business and private aviation market.
This has been at the heart of our
thinking in developing our new terminal.
The Stobart Jet Centre will offer guests
and pilots a smooth, premium experience
because we can offer 24-hour
availability and departure routes
outside London’s crowded airspace. We
are confident that London Southend
Airport will become a refreshing,
hassle-free alternative to London’s
current, crowded private aviation
terminals.”
Future of UK Airfields
The Royal Aeronautical Society announces
a one-day conference on Tuesday 24th
October 2017 at 4 Hamilton Place, London
W1, addressing the Future of UK
Airfields.
The day will be opened by Rt Hon Grant
Shapps, MP, with a ministerial address
from Lord Callanan, Aviation Minister,
Department for Transport.
The RAeS wants to help bring the sector
together to help provide some answers to
these questions posed by Ministers in
the draft Aviation Strategy, as well
inputting into the work of the new All
Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on GA,
recently set up to promote the GA sector
in Parliament.
Full details are available
here
ExecuJet St Maarten returns to
operations post-Irma
ExecuJet, part of the Luxaviation Group,
has announced that its FBO in St
Maarten, which along with the rest of
the island was extensively affected by
Hurricane Irma, is back to operational
capability following the handling of a
transient business jet.
The Falcon 8X aircraft took off from
ExecuJet’s St Maarten facility in the
Caribbean on 10 October 2017, signalling
the start of a return to normal
operations ahead of the holiday season
in December.
Fuel is available without
restriction at the FBO, and the current
limitation to daylight-only flights is
expected to be lifted following the
restoration of navigation aids and
runway lights, which is scheduled for
completion by the end of October 2017.
read more
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SETOps conference shows the future of air transport services.
By
Kathryn B. Creedy.
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The future of SETops - a perception issue?
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US small transportation activity is higher than the
post- eregulation period.
Kathryn B. Creedy.
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Marketing SETP requires
Logic and Emotion.
Ashley Bowen Cook, vice president at Greteman
Group.
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The ‘disintermediation’ of business
aviation
Wheels Up, Surf Air and newcomers Waves
are all making use of proprietary apps,
a significant shift for business
aviation, which until recently has
thrived on personal relationships with customers.
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