As the urgent threat of the global pandemic that paralyzed much of the world for two years receded into history and travel restrictions dropped, private aviation traffic continued its resurgence last year. For Part 2 of this year’s FBO Survey, encompassing the rest of the world outside of the Americas, AIN spoke with service providers at leisure destinations and key business centers, many of whom reported record levels of private aircraft activities, surpassing pre-Covid levels.
According to Hamburg, Germany-based industry data tracker WingX Advance, global business jet departures were up 14 percent in 2022 compared with pre-Covid 2019. Last July, more than two years after it implemented some of the world’s strictest border restrictions, Australia finally dropped its remaining Covid-related travel qualifications and fully opened.
BJT: Seven of China’s Scariest Outdoor Attractions
How'd you like to cross a more than thousand-meter-high glass-bottomed bridge that appears to be cracking? Neither would we. But here are some of the scariest attractions that draw daredevils in China.
This begins with the Fuxi Mountain Skywalk in Henan province. Jutting out from the side of Fuxi Mountain, this horseshoe-shaped glass walkway sits 360 terrifying meters above a lush green valley.
Electric aircraft developers promise to revolutionize the aviation industry by replacing gas-guzzling turbine engines with more environmentally friendly, battery-powered propulsion systems that produce zero emissions while boasting significantly lower operating costs.
While a handful of companies like Eviation are working to build and certify electric commuter airplanes, other companies like Joby and Archer plan to introduce electric fleets consisting of thousands of much smaller aircraft that can take off and land vertically, known as eVTOLs. Those aircraft, which are scheduled to begin operations as early as 2025, can carry groups of four to six people or cargo payloads on short flights of a couple hundred miles, allowing passengers to fly over traffic jams in urban settings and reach their destinations in record time.
Textron Aviation took the wraps off a new utility twin aircraft that will become the largest in its growing in-production turboprop lineup. At the same time, the manufacturer announced its first customer, FedEx Express, with an order for up to 100 in hand. A long-time customer of Textron Aviation’s Cessna Caravan, FedEx also formally signed a contract for 50 cargo variants of the new Cessna SkyCourier 408 and options for up to 50 more. Including options, the order carries a potential value of up to $550 million, based on the $5.5 million list price.
Plans call for delivery of the aircraft to begin to FedEx in 2020 and continue at a pace of one per month over more than a four-year period for the firm orders. The SkyCouriers will help FedEx replenish its fleet of existing turboprops, including some older Caravans and ATRs.
NASA marked the anniversary of the 50-year ban on commercial supersonic travel over land this week highlighting the progress of its “Quesst” mission, which includes plans to fly a Mach 1.4 X-59 test aircraft this year to pave the way for noise trials. Those noise trials involving the X-plane will be used to gather data that could ultimately make supersonic operations over land possible again.
Lockheed Martin, in concert with NASA, has been developing the supersonic single-seat, nearly 100-foot-long aircraft at its Skunk Works factory in Palmdale, California. The aircraft is being designed with new technologies that would emit a lower boom, described as a soft thud, to buffer the impacts of the shockwaves associated with supersonic flight.
FutureFlight: Kawasaki Invests in VoltAero Aircraft
Kawasaki Motors has become a strategic investor in VoltAero, joining Series B funding for the development, production, and certification of VoltAero’s Cassio electric-hybrid aircraft family. The companies revealed the undisclosed investment just prior to the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva but did not specify a dollar amount.
The Series B round marks the third funding phase for VoltAero, positioning it for the industrialization of its Cassio 330, the first member of Cassio’s electric-hybrid aircraft family. It builds on an earlier €32 million investment by Italy's TESI group in November 2022.
BJT Video: An Unbiased Expert’s Advice on Booking Charter
Are you considering traveling on a chartered private aircraft? Per Marthinsson, chief revenue officer of the Avinode Group, offers tips for the beginner on what to do and what not to do when booking a private jet charter for the first time.
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