The 2024 Honeywell Aerospace forecast predicts the delivery of 8,500 new business jets over the next decade. But how will these aircraft differ from today’s aircraft in terms of features and performance, and which trends have emerged? Airframers took several steps into that future with key advancements this year.

Perhaps the most notable advancement was the U.S. certification of Gulfstream Aerospace’s G700 in late March. A key for the approval of the G700 is that it also clears the plate to an extent for Gulfstream on the even longer range G800. Meanwhile, Gulfstream’s busy R&D schedule continues to hum along with the G400, which marked its first flight on August 15, flying for almost three hours, reaching a top speed of Mach 0.85.

Soccer star Christiano Ronaldo liked the livery of his newly purchased Global Express XRS so much that he kept the paint job designed by Happy Design Studio and added just his initials and silhouette next to the cabin door to personalize the unusual paint job.

“He chose that one because it’s ultra-visible,” said Didier Wolff, founder of Happy Design Studio. “I assume he wants to share an aspect of his personality and doesn’t want to hide his travel on his private jet.”

With the September 2015 announcement that Signature Flight Support parent company BBA Aviation is buying Landmark Aviation from the Carlyle Group, the FBO landscape will change. The $2.065 billion deal will give Signature—which already has the world’s largest FBO network—nearly 200 locations worldwide.

Some observers have pointed out that the deal won’t change the number of bases controlled by service provider chains (approximately 10 percent in the U.S., mainly at top-tier airports). What will change is the name on a number of facilities, and there is no denying that for those customers who maintain brand loyalty (not a very large percentage, according to responses from our annual FBO survey), Signature has greatly enhanced its coverage and in-network referral capability, both domestically and abroad.

This has been a pivotal year for aviation policy, setting in motion the foundation for the FAA’s activities over the next several years. Further, the release of the long-awaited safety management system mandate is pushing operators and companies into action that until then may have adopted a wait-and-see approach.

However, 2024 also ratcheted up the bureaucracy on top-tier corporate operators who may have been swept into the populism of “paying their fair share,” and on charter operators who may have been pulled into the Part 380 wars.

A group of investors from Europe and North America has agreed to acquire the operating assets of eVTOL aircraft developer Lilium. The German company announced an agreement with Mobile Lift Corporation on December 24, while also confirming reports that on December 20 it had laid off all its employees.

The identities of investors have not been disclosed, but Mobile Lift has been incorporated in Germany as a private company. It is acquiring Lilium’s two German subsidiaries through a transaction expected to close in early January.

Many classic books are just the right size to start and finish on a long flight, including a tightly-written Steinbeck. BJT compiled a list of a half-dozen of such books.

The list begins with Albert Camus’ “The Stranger,” which comes in at 123 pages.

Icon Aircraft sent a letter before the holidays to notify owners of its composite A5 amphibious light sport airplane that president Jason Huang was relinquishing his post and that Lily Hu is the new president of the company.

In April, Icon Aircraft filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and said it began a “strategic restructuring process.” The company announced that it “intends to pursue a sale of its business under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code while continuing to support its customers and operations during the Chapter 11 process.”

Mystery of Missing Gulfstream III Private Jet Deepens

Challenger Fatal Crash: Oil Pressure Warnings Preceded Engine Failure

Five Killed in HondaJet Rejected Takeoff Crash at Mesa Falcon Field

Passenger Lands King Air C90 after Pilot Medical Incapacitation Issue

Launch of Super-midsize Gulfstream G300 Could Be Nearing

FAA Removes Check Pilot Medical Requirement