NBAA welcomes introduction of long-term House FAA Reauthorization bill

The National Business Aviation Association has welcomed the introduction of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 4), House legislation authorizing funding and programs for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through 2023.

“We welcome this bipartisan legislation,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen.

“The fact that it’s a bipartisan bill increases its changes for passage, and the fact that it’s a long-term bill should give us an opportunity to focus all our efforts on maintaining, and even accelerating, our continuing work to make the Next Generation aviation system a reality.”

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Flexjet launches Corporate Solutions to complement flight department needs

Flexjet LLC has announced Corporate Solutions by Flexjet, which will partner with corporate flight departments to enhance capabilities and efficiencies while maintaining the high standards expected by their companies.

This division of Flexjet will focus its expertise on corporate flight departments that maintain and operate their own fleet of aircraft.

Flexjet already serves several Fortune 1000 companies with a combination of supplemental lift and consultation to achieve more effective utilization of their existing fleets.

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Satcom Direct ramps up Asia Pacific presence with Hong Kong office expansion

Satcom Direct (SD), the business aviation connectivity, software and hardware provider, celebrated the opening of its new Asia Pacific office on 10th April, accompanied by dancing dragons, traditional Hong Kong fare, and an elite gathering of Asian business jet operators.

Situated in the heart of bustling Wan Chai, the expanded Hong Kong home of SD gives the growing customer base easier access to the business as it moves from its Hong Kong airport airside location, to the core of the city’s commercial district.

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MSB Aerospace begins production in Savannah, Georgia

MSB Aerospace LLC, the US-based division of Montreal-headquartered precision engineering business MSB Design, has begun production at its new Savannah, Georgia facility.

The work is being undertaken in the newly equipped state-of-the-art workshops which mirror the Montreal site in terms of production and process. Although smaller in size, the production unit, which currently measures 10 000 sq feet, is expected to produce up to 30% of MSB’s north America output through 2018. MSB Aerospace LLC is already holding another 60 000 sq feet in the same building for further expansion.

With the new facility in operation MSB’s customers benefit from quicker turn-around times, a more personalised service, and earlier direct liaison with the customer in the product development lifecycle. Customers also benefit from a change in purchasing patterns with MSB now buying nearly 100% of materials in the US.

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OJets, a new integrated provider of comprehensive business aviation services, has announced the acquisition of Elit’Avia, a business aircraft management, charter and services company based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Headquartered in Singapore, OJets’ world-class team is guided by a commitment to delivering industry-defining service - tailored to the most discerning Asian and international business travelers. OJets makes trans-Pacific and transcontinental air travel luxurious and convenient.

OJets CEO, Nicholas Houseman

Last week, OJets announced the purchase of two aircraft (a Bombardier Global 6000 and a Bombardier Challenger 650) from Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd.

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Jetex and Wright Electric partner to electrify private jet travel

Jetex will join forces with US startup Wright Electric to revolutionize private jet aviation.

With this new partnership, Jetex will be the first general aviation company globally to champion and support electric aircraft for short haul flights.

The company will implement the charging infrastructure and full support for electric aircraft, expanding throughout the vast Jetex Global FBO Network, starting in Dubai - a potential for charging stations at over thirty FBOs.

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Embraer delivers 14 commercial and 11 executive jets in 1Q18

During the first quarter of 2018, Embraer delivered 11 business jets and 14 commercial jets across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific.

People Comlux   John Fleeman Comlux's completion and service center in Indianapolis, Comlux Completion, has appointed John Fleeman as the new Head of Maintenance. John is joining the Comlux team after 21 years at Associated Air Center in Dallas. He has acquired a wealth of industry knowledge over the years in both BBJ and ACJ MRO work. John started his career working at Dalfort as an A&P mechanic. He served in various roles at AAC, starting first as an A&P lead mechanic and later moving to a Maintenance Program Manager and ultimately the Director of Maintenance where he worked for the last 10 years. Universal Avionics   Curtis Thelen Universal Avionics has announced the appointment of Curtis Thelen to the position of Chief Financial Officer for the company. Thelen transitions into this new role as predecessor, Mr. Michael Delgado retires after 20 years with the company. Curtis Thelen joined Universal Avionics in 2007 when he assumed the position of Controller. He has a business degree in Finance and Accounting, and a Master's Degree in Business. "We're pleased to have Curtis Thelen move up to CFO," said Paul DeHerrera, Universal Avionics Chief Executive Officer. "His strong financial background and experience with the Universal Avionics culture will be extremely valuable as the company continues on its solid growth path."   Guardian Flight   Randy Lyman Guardian Flight Inc. has named Randy Lyman Vice President of Base Operations for the leading air medical transport company. Lyman is responsible for all of Guardian Flight's more than 50 bases that serve 15 states, including Alaska and Hawaii. Previously he served REACH Air Medical Services as Director of Service Delivery and VP of CALSTAR Air Medical Services, following its acquisition by REACH. REACH and Guardian Flight are both AMGH companies. Lyman joined REACH in 1987 as one of the company's original paramedics. He has served as a medical crew supervisor, base manager, general manager, and director of service delivery. During a 40-year medical transport career, Lyman has held positions as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, FTO, field supervisor and operations manager.

Following a common procurement action, Eurocontrol and forty-one industry partners, primarily air navigation service providers (ANSPs), have launched a new contract with BT for the provision and management of a secure and highly resilient New Pan-European Network Service (NewPENS).

The 10-year contract has an estimated total value of more than €50m.

The new, ultra-resilient network will connect around 100 locations across 47 countries in the Eurocontrol area and neighbouring countries. It can be used by all air traffic management (ATM) stakeholders to transfer business-critical data reliably, securely and safely in a cost-efficient way.

It will be built on BT's IP network with mission-critical connections running on a dual core infrastructure, offering parallel connectivity that is physically and logically separated in order to provide the highest levels of availability and resilience.

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London Oxford Airport hails 10 years of consistent growth

London Oxford Airport, ranked the fifth busiest UK business airport in the UK and amongst the top 20 in Europe, is among a handful of UK business airports that have seen consistent growth post the financial crash of 2007.

According to Eurocontrol figures published last month, London Stansted (with its five FBOs) leads the ‘most recovered’ with a 35% 10-year growth. But London Oxford is a close second with an overall 32% growth.

London Luton Airport retains its crown as the number one airport for business aviation movements, but it and a few other London-centric airports have become “increasingly squeezed for slots, to the benefit of airports like us,” said James Dillon-Godfray, Head of Business Development, speaking at London Oxford Airport’s pre-EBACE 2018 media briefing last week. "With night flights constrained at key peer airports we can still operate to midnight seven days a week."

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Charter market accelerating in Asia, says Avinode

The Asian business aviation charter market is expanding rapidly, according to new figures from Avinode, a leading technology and data partner for the business aviation industry.

Requests for arrivals into Asian airports made through Avinode rose by 43% for the period April 2017 to March 2018 compared to the same period in 2016-17, from 78,269 to 111,964.

Avinode CEO, Oliver King.

The most significant increases in flight requests for arrivals into Asia were from Russia and the US, with requests from the US surging 72.4%.

For trips from Russia to Asia, flight requests made through Avinode leapt 41.4%, from 24,580 in 2016-2017, to 34,765 in the same period 2017-2018.

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Paula returns next week.

SETops 2018 - Set for September

Emerald Media and BlueSky are pleased to announce that the third annual edition of SETOps - their highly successful Single Engine Turboprop Operators Conference - will return on Friday, 28th September.

Once again we will be partnering with the Royal Aeronautical Society.

“SETops was extremely well received last year and we are confident of having at least one UK AOC operator by the time of the next gathering,” said Alison Chambers, Emerald Media.

Emerald’s recent move into niche industry conferences, partnering with BlueSky, has become an important component of its influencer activity.

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Fokker Techniek awarded first ever Airbus ACJ319neo VIP completion by K5-Aviation

Fokker Techniek, a business of GKN Aerospace, has signed a contract with long-term customer K5-Aviation for the first ever ACJ319neo VIP completion.

The completion starts in May 2019 and is scheduled to be ready for delivery at the beginning of 2020. This order comes in addition to the already contracted completions.

Luca Madone of K5-Aviation said, “Awarding Fokker Techniek for this prestigious project was a logical continuation of the existing relationship both companies have from previous projects. We believe Fokker will deliver again on time and according to our highest expectations. The aircraft will have a modern interior with a focus on saving weight and will include the latest interior technologies.”

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Fly Comlux opens San Marino T7 Commercial AOC

Comlux has announced the opening of a new commercial AOC in San Marino for its VIP Aviation division, Fly Comlux.

This 4th AOC “T7” complements Comlux’s existing AOCs in Malta (9H), Aruba (P4) and Kazakhstan (UP).

The first aircraft to join Comlux San Marino AOC is a Bombardier Challenger 604.

Comlux has put in place the required team of post-holders and the best aviation practices to ensure a smooth entry into service of the aircraft.

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Deer Jet launches extra-value plans for charter and aircraft management

Beijing business aviation company Deer Jet has launched four innovative plans for its on-demand charter and aircraft management services.

The plans are aimed to allow a broader customer base to experience the advantages of private jet travel and to reward its most loyal clients. The new products include the “Entry Experiential Plan”, “Jet Card 4.0”, “Ferry-waived Card”, and “Deer Jet AM Care+”.

The “Entry Experiential Plan” is the first product of this type ever offered by the company and new for the on-demand charter market. With this plan, Deer Jet has simplified very complex fees by consolidating all in one single fixed + service fee for its charter services.

According to the company, the plan offer best-in-value for individual and corporate clients, and can also be contracted on group basis.

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