First Half of April Sees Further Steep Falls in Bizjet Flights

Worldwide business jet flights dipped by as much as 79 percent in the first two weeks of April, according to new statistics published by data analyst WingX. For the U.S., the latest numbers indicated a worsening situation as data released by the company last week covering the first seven days of April showed a 60 percent drop compared with the same period in 2019.

According to WingX’s latest Global Market Tracker, the whole of North America and Europe saw the highest levels of decline. However, in Asia and South America, the reduction varied between 65 and 70 percent, and flight activity out of China fell by 57 percent. The new WingX data also showed flying for fractional ownership programs falling somewhat more steeply than for aircraft management and charter operations. Despite the fact that business aircraft have been involved in supporting emergency medical missions, overall air ambulance flights fell 45 percent year-on-year.

In the first half of April, just under 1,000 business jets were recorded as active, compared to more than 4,000 in the same period last year, according to WingX.

AINsight: Finding the Silver Lining in Covid-19 Crisis

About 30 days into the biggest spanner-in-the-spokes that the business aviation industry has yet faced, signs of hope that at least the worst of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic might be peaking are what many are looking for these days. Pressures to return to some semblance of a “new normal” life have been building, as we individually and collectively learn to adjust to a very different world of work and life.

Though aircraft traffic is down substantially worldwide, GDP growth forecasts for key economies are grim, and U.S. unemployment has skyrocketed, there a silver lining to all of this disruption. In fact, there is never a better time to reimagine, restructure, and retool an organization as there is right now. Capital remains cheap, and talent (an oh-so-tight resource up until very recently) is suddenly and widely available.

For those with a longer-term view of their business aviation enterprise, now is an excellent time to innovate and to consider investments while others are hunkered down—think airplanes, competitors, technology startups, tooling, facilities, and airport property.

As an industry, I am confident that business aviation will bend but not break—and come out the other end even stronger for the exercise. When? As a public health crisis, let’s defer to the medical experts on the front lines of searching for the blessed vaccine, which can’t come soon enough.

DOT Designates $10 billion in Relief Funding for Airports

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has designated the $10 billion in funds set aside for commercial and general aviation airports under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Airport Grant Program.  

The department assigned grants to small and large airports alike, and funding will be available as soon as airport sponsors complete a grant agreement under a streamlined process the FAA is implementing. Airport sponsors should work with local FAA Office of Airports field offices on the application process, said the FAA, which encouraged them to spend the funding immediately. The funding is intended to support continuing operations and replace lost revenue during the Covid-19 crisis.

More than $1 billion went to 188 airports in California alone, including $69,000 for business and general aviation facilities such as Reid-Hillview and Santa Monica, with Van Nuys slated to receive $157,000. Elsewhere, Palm Beach International will get $36 million; Teterboro in New Jersey $157,000; Westchester County in New York $23.6 million; Dekalb-Peachtree in Georgia $157,000; Fort Worth Alliance in Texas $157,000; Dupage in Illinois $157,000; and Aspen-Pitkin $3.4 million, among others.

However, city officials in Santa Monica, who have long expressed a desire to close the airport, are considering foregoing the grants to make sure they have the option of closing the facility in 2028, according to the local Santa Monica Daily Press.

Ross Aviation Begins Aircraft Disinfection Services

Ross Aviation has added aircraft cabin disinfecting services at some of its FBOs, in light of the current Covid-19 pandemic. While the Denver-based company has ramped up its infectious disease safety precautions chain-wide, it has retained aircraft cleaning specialist David Allen Certified to advise and train its staffers on the disinfection process, starting at its facilities in Scottsdale, Arizona and Sarasota, Florida.

A typical business aircraft will take between one and two hours to disinfect, depending on size, and it can return to service immediately after the process, the components of which are approved by OEMs. The treatment, which follows NBAA’s guidelines for disinfection using EPA-registered products, not only sanitizes the aircraft but will protect it from between seven and 30 days, depending on the amount of wear on the areas.

“We’re pleased to not only be able to offer these capabilities for the well-being of our customers, but also to help keep our team members, who are essential front-line workers, healthy and productive during the downturn in flight activity,” said Ross CEO Brian Corbett.

David Allen Certified also has AOG rapid response teams available to arrive within eight to 24 hours to clean and disinfect aircraft on demand at other airports around the U.S.

Wing Drone Deliveries Support Social Distancing

Drone delivery pioneer Wing has stepped up services to help customers confined to their houses receive goods during the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said that in the past two weeks it has made more than 1,000 deliveries in four communities where it is conducting trial operations in the U.S., Australia, and Finland.

Last April, Wing became the first drone delivery service in the U.S. to be certified as an air carrier by the FAA. Since then, its 10-pound aircraft has made more than 100,000 flights, delivering packages weighing up to three pounds on round trips of up to 12 miles at speeds of up to 70 mph. The company has developed its own unmanned traffic management system based on mapping software.

In the town of Christianburg, Virginia, the service has partnered with local independent cafes and coffee shops, as well as with the Walgreens drug store, to make deliveries in a way that avoids person-to-person contact where social distancing rules are being enforced. Its fastest delivery so far was achieved in two minutes and 47 seconds after the order was placed.

Wing, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, is currently providing the service free of charge to gather feedback from business users and their customers. AIN interviewed company executive Alexa Dennett in this video.

NTSB Releases Factual Report on Halladay Accident

The NTSB on Wednesday released a factual report on the crash of former Major League Baseball pitcher Roy Halladay’s Icon A5 light sport amphibious airplane on Nov. 7, 2017, in which Halladay died. According to the NTSB factual report, a number of drugs were found in Halladay’s specimens during toxicology testing. The report also documents the high angle of attack (AoA) maneuvers at low altitude that Halladay flew in the A5 just before the accident.

Halladay bought the A5 about four weeks before the accident, according to the NTSB, and had logged 14.5 hours in that airplane. The NTSB was able to confirm from recovered GPS data that the airplane had been flown under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, near St. Petersburg, Florida, and Halladay documented the maneuver in his logbook. The vertical clearance of the bridge is 180 feet.

Witness reports included two commercial fishermen, one saying he saw the A5 fly over his vessel below 300 feet. Halladay died of blunt trauma after the A5 crashed into the water at a “45 degree nose-down, wings-level attitude,” with drowning contributory, according to the report.

The NTSB found that “no pre-accident anomalies were noted with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.” There was also no evidence of impact damage that could have been due to a bird strike.

Used Helo Market Rises in Q1, but Drop Expected in Q2

Despite a 37 percent year-over-year uptick in preowned helicopter sales and a smaller 8 percent rise in units sold in the first quarter, the market is expected to swing lower from the “double whammy” effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and sliding oil prices, according to rotorcraft broker Aero Asset’s Preowned Helicopter Market Trends report.

Meanwhile, the supply of preowned helicopters increased 4 percent, to $909 million on 240 units, in the quarter. The industry absorption rate for the period was stable at 21 months, but deals in the pipeline fell 30 percent, to 18 units, the report noted.

“Aero Asset will closely monitor the second quarter and beyond for any signs of a recovery, as we are already seeing the immediate effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic and the double whammy of a worldwide crash in oil prices,” said Aero Asset sales director Emmanuel Dupuy. “Beyond the human scope of the pandemic, both events are wreaking havoc on economies around the world.”

Helicopter light twins saw an increase in supply with flat sales in the quarter, while the supply of medium twins was flat, with sales up by a third. The supply of heavy twins declined by 30 percent in the quarter, while sales doubled during the period, according to the report.

Boeing Supplier Spirit To Power Wichita Plant with Wind

Spirit AeroSystems will convert to using wind-generated electricity at its 12.8 million-sq-ft plant in Wichita after Kansas utility regulators approved a 10-year agreement between the Airbus and Boeing supplier and area utility provider Evergy. Spirit plans to begin the conversion this year.

"Kansas is known for wind, and Spirit Wichita is known for building airplanes,” said Spirit senior v-p for operations and chief procurement officer Ron Rabe. “The two will now be directly connected in a way that helps both the environment and our ability to compete.”

Included in the agreement is an updated electric rate structure that Rabe said brings parity to what Spirit pays in Wichita compared with its other sites, including in Oklahoma and North Carolina. “This new agreement is important to Spirit because it helps maintain the company as a vibrant and growing contributor to the Kansas economy,” he said. “The new electric rates we will be paying address price disadvantages for electric service Spirit has experienced in Kansas compared to our operations in other states.”

Later this year, the Wichita site will begin receiving its electricity from the Flat Ridge 3 wind farm located 44 miles away, near Kingman, Kansas.

Parked Aircraft Prompt FAA Caution on Airport Ops

The FAA is advising operators to remain vigilant about checking Notams and understanding the airport environment as the Covid-19 crisis is spurring carriers to park up to half of their fleets and airport operators search for space to accommodate this overflow. “Extensive overflow parking presents an extraordinarily unusual operational environment,” the agency said in a Safety Alert to Operators (SAFO 20005).

Air carriers and all pilots should thoroughly review Notams for each flight to assess the specific circumstances at an airport, the SAFO advises. “Airport conditions will differ and each should be known and fully understood prior to departure,” it states. Further, pilots should be proactive during operations, remaining aware of potential unexpected circumstances from non-standard operations and being alert to instrument landing systems (ILS) presentations, fluctuations or inaccuracy due to disturbances in ILS beams, the SAFO adds.

The SAFO additionally advises pilots to report unusual circumstances that vary from published reports and maintain clear communications with air traffic control. “If uncertainty exists then a go-around if airborne or stopping the aircraft on the ground should be considered,” it said, and stresses, particular care should be exercised at night or in reduced visibility. If normal operational flow is disrupted, “flightcrew should consider the entire airport to be a ‘hot spot.’”