The business and general aviation sector experienced an intense year in terms of European Union regulations in 2023 with the adoption of new green financing rules and legislation commanding a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blending obligation in the bloc’s 27 member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

However, 2024 is poised to be even more demanding with nearly 10 parliamentary elections set to take place across the continent. Notably, a new EU Parliament is scheduled to be elected in June, and the appointment of the new EU Commission is slated for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Jet Agency, a private aviation company based in Naples, Florida, is an upstart: incorporated in 2019, it had its hard launch in 2023. The company is not well known outside of southwest Florida, but CEO Jordan Brown is trying to change that.

With notable candor, he spoke to BJT about Jet Agency’s entrance into the market, as well as aircraft safety and Boeing’s well-publicized product issues.

Launching this year’s Bombardier Safety Standdown on November 7, Convergent Performance founder Tony Kern brought his unique perspective to a packed audience of business aviation professionals. Wearing a shiny suit that looked like something George Jetson would have worn during the animated television show of the 1960s, Kern claimed to have beamed into the Standdown via a wormhole from the future, showing up on the stage at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Wichita to pass along warnings about what’s happening in business aviation safety.

Business aviation is facing a critical moment, Kern noted, with many professionals poised to retire and preparing to relinquish their roles to younger generations. “We are undergoing a huge, massive handoff,” he said. “Safety concerns are increasing because of our business aviation accident rates. Staffing issues are critical. It’s tough right now getting good people."

One airline passenger on an hour-and-45-minute SpiceJet flight from Mumbai to Bengaluru, India, spent most of a January 16 flight—including the landing—stuck in the lavatory after its lock malfunctioned. To add insult to injury, he was tossed around even after being instructed, via a note slipped under the door, to secure himself on the commode.

That advice—from a flight attendant—was of limited value, as the toilet is the only seat on an airplane not equipped with a seatbelt. And he was not provided with any medical assistance once he was freed. Such a scenario is highly unlikely to occur on a private jet, industry insiders say.

For FBOs, OEMs, and other hangar keepers, the inadvertent discharge of fire foam systems is a persistent and growing problem. Nearly everyone has seen photos taken in the aftermath of one of these events—a hangar filled with a thick layer of foam that can reach 10 feet high, spilling out on to the ramp in some cases.

In a way, accidental foam discharge is like the social disease of the FBO industry. Those who have had one don’t like to talk about it with anyone outside of their insurance providers, and ditto for foam system installers and maintainers, in fear of stigma from current and prospective hangar customers.

Joby Aviation this week firmed up plans to use a Kearny, New Jersey heliport as an operating base for eVTOL air taxi services in the New York City area. On Tuesday, the manufacturer announced an agreement with the facility’s owner and operator, Helo Holdings (HHI), to install Joby’s Global Electric Aviation Charging System (GEACS) at the site.

The partnership with HHI is part of Joby’s efforts to prepare to launch commercial services with its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft from 2025 with Delta Air Lines in locations including New York and Los Angeles. In November 2023, HHI provided Joby with a temporary base for flight demonstrations in New York City, which also involved rival manufacturers Archer and Volocopter.

The FAA has approved a supplemental type certificate (STC) for installation of the AerAware enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) with wearable head-up display (HUD) on the Boeing 737NG. AerAware's EFVS was developed through a partnership between HUD manufacturer Universal Avionics and AerSale, which led the STC program.

The STC includes Universal’s ClearVision EFVS with dual SkyLens head-wearable displays, capable of providing enhanced vision (infrared), synthetic vision, and combined vision system imagery. The displays are fed by Universal’s EVS-5000 multispectral camera, and a unique feature of the SkyLens system is that pilots can view imagery in any direction and aren’t restricted to the field of view of a fixed HUD.

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