Now accounting for about 31 percent of the global fleet of commercial aircraft, the Asia-Pacific region already ranks as the largest market for the world’s airliner manufacturers. Even as parts of the region recover more slowly than the rest of the world from the economic effects of the Covid pandemic, the prospects for future growth appear brighter than ever given the size of its upwardly mobile population, the availability of lower-cost capital, and arguably more liberal regulatory environments.

One country with which most people wouldn’t associate liberal regulatory policy—China—saw the effects of Covid result in the steepest declines in traffic in the region and among the slowest to recover from the pandemic. According to statistics compiled by the International Air Transport Association, the country’s international traffic volume remains some 60 percent below pre-2019 levels. Still, according to IATA vice president of Asia-Pacific Philip Goh, China’s trajectory will account for a major piece of the wider region’s recovery.

Dassault’s Falcon 900LX trijet is the latest member of the Falcon 900 family, and the French manufacturer recently unveiled a refreshed cabin design to incorporate aesthetic features from the even newer 7X and 8X jets. The aircraft, which features aerodynamics-enhancing winglets, offers a range of up to 4,750 nm—enough to go nonstop from London to Seattle, for instance.

The 900LX’s cabin has flowing lines intended to declutter the cabin and enhance the feeling of space. Comfort is further enhanced by an LED mood lighting system and acoustical insulation systems that reduce cabin noise by 2 dB SIL.

Looking at Jon Carmichael’s extraordinary image of the 2017 solar eclipse, one might be surprised to learn that he took the photos that made up this photo mosaic through the window of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737. Carmichael is based in New York City and specializes in contemporary landscape and astrophotography. He is also a sport pilot.

The final image of the eclipse—titled “108”—is a mosaic of photos that Carmichael took during what turned out to be a special journey on Southwest Flight 1368 from Portland, Oregon, to St. Louis, Missouri on Aug. 21, 2017.

AIN's monthly wrap-up of turbine business aircraft accidents includes preliminary information on an inflight break-up of a Robinson R66 Robinson on Oct. 26, 2023, in Hawks Nest, Australia; a fatal crash of a Pilatus PC-12 on Dec. 14, 2023, in Christoval, Texas; and a newsgathering Eurocopter AS350B2 that went down on Dec. 19, 2023, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

It also highlights final reports for a Dassault Falcon 20C that crashed on a pre-dawn approach to Runway 10 at Thomson-McDuffie County (Georgia) Airport on Oct. 5, 2021; an accident of a freighter Swearingen SA-226AT operating with one engine out on Dec. 10, 2021, in Manchester, New Hampshire; and an Airbus Helicopters AS350B3 that went down in fog on Nov. 1, 2022, in Verdal, Norway.

Since launching at 2022 European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition in Geneva, Moove has been on the move. The company, which specializes in developing technology for on-demand aircraft operators, just passed the milestone of 60 flights a week and 8,000 passengers a year. 

Moove credits its optimized technology for these milestones as it connects business aviation operators with its 30,000 business travelers, and provides visibility at more than 20 airports and FBOs in Europe via its integrated booking widget, for a transparent commission of 7 percent.

Electron Aerospace is stepping up work to bring a five-seat all-electric aircraft to market by the end of this decade. The Dutch startup unveiled an updated design for the Electron 5 model, for which it intends to start deliveries in 2028.

As battery technology continues to improve incrementally, the company believes the Electron 5 will have an operational range of 500 kilometers (310 miles), including anticipated safety reserves for energy equal to an additional 250 km. According to co-founder and CEO Josef Mouris, for the regional air mobility market, the company initially intends to address city-pair sectors of around 370 km and at a speed of 350 km/h.

High costs and limited feedstock are the key hurdles in the path toward expanding global sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, according to a new report from the UK-based Energy Industries Council (EIC).

Despite SAF’s environmental benefits—which in its neat, unblended form can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80 percent compared with conventional jet fuel—the nascent industry today accounts for less than 1 percent of the total aviation fuel usage. According to the EIC report, substantial development is required for SAF to make a meaningful impact. Based on more than 100 announced projects, total SAF production by that point could equal 50 million tonnes a year, but reaching that amount will require a strategic focus on feedstock availability and the development of additional SAF pathways.

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Electron Aerospace Shows New Design for Electric Five-seat Utility Aircraft