International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) members reported that their preowned business aircraft transactions dropped from 288 in the first three months of 2022 to 239 in the most recent quarter, while the number of aircraft under contract fell from 248 to 197. Even so, IADA members participating in the association’s global perception survey have indicated their expectations have increased for the next six months, compared with where they were in the fourth quarter.
These expectations come as inventory levels start to replenish and pricing stabilizes, suggesting a “rebalancing” of the market, the organization said.
More than 60 percent of respondents anticipate a “slight increase” in inventory across all models, while the vast majority expect pricing to remain stable or slightly decrease. The market was described as “calmer” and IADA dealer Bryon Mobley of Wetzel Aviation said: “The feeding frenzy is over. The market has slowed to a balanced pace, yet with lots of inquiries and activity.”
In the first quarter, more and a higher percentage of transactions (52) experienced lowered pricing than in the past two years. Only six transactions in the first quarter of 2022 and 27 in 2021 saw lowered pricing.
“Results from IADA’s first quarter 2023 survey suggest that marketplace forces are at work as expected,” the association maintained.
The UK’s Sustainable Aviation coalition today renewed its call for strong government support to help the industry meet its net-zero carbon objective by 2050. The group published the latest edition of its annual “carbon roadmaps" at the Sustainable Skies trade show, which opened today and runs through tomorrow at Farnborough Airport. Airline and aerospace industry leaders are using the event to lobby British government ministers during the eighth meeting of the country’s Jet Zero Council.
“There is a clear and credible plan to take carbon dioxide out of aviation through increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and also with hydrogen [propulsion],” Sustainable Aviation’s chair Matt Gorman told reporters. “It’s also an economic opportunity for the UK, but other countries, like the U.S., are moving ahead of the UK so this opportunity is at risk from a lack of government action."
According to Sustainable Aviation’s roadmap, SAF will account for some 40 percent of the CO2 reduction. Another 25 percent will come from airlines replacing older, inefficient aircraft with new equipment and more direct flight paths. The longer-term introduction of new hydrogen-powered aircraft on shorter routes would deliver 10 percent of the required cut.
While praising UK government commitments to support increased SAF production, Sustainable Aviation called for current levels of public funding for that and for increasing and extending other green aviation initiatives.
Colorado’s Pitkin County has selected Atlantic Aviation as the winner of its RFP to operate the sole FBO at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (KASE). Atlantic—the incumbent service provider—was selected from an initial group of seven respondents, which was further winnowed down to three last month. The Texas-based chain will now enter into contract negotiations with the county for a new long-term lease.
According to the county’s procurement office, the selection process was based on several criteria: approach to FBO services at KASE, financial proposal, environmental goals for the airport set by the Board of County Commissioners, ability to finance and build new FBO facilities, development plans for the airfield, and past performance and industry experience.
“After diligent review of each proposal and interviews with the three shortlisted proposers, members of the review committee completed individual scoring based on the evaluation process,” explained Chris Davis, the county’s procurement manager. “The committee members’ scores aggregated to show unanimous agreement that Atlantic’s proposal represents the greatest overall benefit to the airport, Pitkin County, and the community.”
In 2006, Atlantic acquired Aspen Base Operation, which had been awarded a 30-year lease. That agreement expires at the end of September.
Air charter provider Paramount Business Jets has updated its open-source Private Jet Carbon Offset Calculator in recognition of Earth Day 2023 this Saturday. The calculator, launched in 2019, allows users to quickly determine a flight’s carbon emissions by inputting the departure and destination points and the type of aircraft.
The updated version yields more precise emission calculations by allowing users to select the specific category and aircraft model, rather than simply the aircraft model as in the first version. In addition, the calculator now presents greener aircraft options appropriate for the mission.
“We feel that this tool can help the environment, and that’s why we put time and effort into updating it,” said Paramount Business Jets founder and CEO Richard Zaher. “This tool helps those who are creating carbon emissions be more aware of them, and helps in lessening them by giving the client the ability to make a more informed decision.”
Like the first version, the emissions results page provides links to organizations offering accredited offset programs for those who wish to purchase offsets to reduce their carbon footprints. According to Zaher, these offset companies are “receiving purchase requests from clients coming through our calculator on a regular basis.”
Finally, WiFi that actually works. Customers are experiencing sustained connection that is as effortless at 41,000 ft as connectivity on the ground
SmartSky is wowing customers across the country. It’s time to get on board. Availability of the newest, state-of-the-art solution for the entire aircraft makes connecting to what’s most important as effortless in the air as it is on the ground.
A draft programmatic environmental assessment (PEA) for FAA-recognized identification areas (FRIA) is available for public review and comment. An FRIA is a defined geographic area where uncrewed aircraft can be flown without remote identification equipment. The Draft PEA analyzes and discloses the potential environmental impacts associated with the establishment of FRIAs.
Based on the analysis of the PEA, the FAA has preliminarily determined there “will not be a significant impact to the human environment.” Therefore, the agency said an environmental impact statement will not be initiated at this time. The FAA intends for this PEA to be a framework that can be used for project-specific actions. If additional analysis is required, “environmental reviews will be conducted to supplement the analysis in this PEA.”
Under operations approved for FRIAs, both the unmanned aircraft and remote pilot must be located within the FRIA’s boundaries throughout the operation. In addition, the unmanned aircraft’s remote pilot must be able to see it at all times throughout the duration of the flight. Only FAA-recognized “community-based organizations” and educational institutions are eligible to request the establishment of an FRIA. Approval will be valid for 48 calendar months. Comments on the PEA are due by May 3.
C&L Aviation Group subsidiary C&L Aerospace recently completed the sale of a VVIP Boeing 757 to the secretary general of the presidency of Argentina for presidential travel. The aircraft’s VVIP layout has seating up to 39 passengers, a main bedroom, and two other rooms.
“We were happy to assist one of our principal customers in acquiring this critical asset for their government,” said C&L Aerospace senior v-p of sales Martin Cooper. “The nature of our business and the emphasis we put on the relationships we have with our customers lends itself well to helping solve their complex problems and support needs.”
As part of the transaction, C&L took Argentina’s existing presidential Boeing 757 as a trade, which is parked in storage in Buenos Aires. The low-time Boeing 757-200, which has Rolls-Royce RB211 engines, is now being offered for sale by C&L in as-is condition.
Business aviation spend-management platform MySky is relocating its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) headquarters to Dubai. The move follows the opening of MySky’s Dubai office late last year.
“Following extensive research, Dubai was a clear winner for us to execute our ambitious plans for expansion in EMEA,” said MySky global strategy director and co-founder Chris Marich. “The new Dubai headquarters will not only support our European customers but also enable us to better serve our Middle East, Asia, and Africa customers, and develop new partnerships throughout the region. We are driven to make business aviation more transparent, bring value to all private aviation stakeholders, and ensure everyone in the industry understands the true impact of their costs.”
Kirill Kim, CEO and co-founder, added, “When MySky launched in 2015, we were a team of five sitting around a table in Geneva. Today, as a global team of 120, we bring our products to hundreds of business aircraft owners and operators to help them deliver efficient and effective cost analysis and spend management while reducing financial inaccuracies. In the next 12 months, we plan to double our team in the Middle East.”
The list of aftermarket options for Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters continues to grow as more of these aircraft find their way onto the civil market.
Earlier this month, Rain Industries demonstrated the ability to remotely command a UH-60 via satellite link from its California command center to a helicopter located in Tennessee. With a safety pilot aboard, the aircraft self-dispatched and flew to a hypothetical destination as part of a fire-response demonstration. “This is a critical first proof-of-concept to illustrate how our software will allow uncrewed aircraft to support firefighting missions,” said Ephraim Nowak, Rain’s chief engineer. The demonstration flight is one of several scheduled projects with customer fire agencies scheduled in 2023, Rain said.
Meanwhile, Black Widow Helicopters, a company that specializes in modifying Black Hawks for the civil market, announced an order for 12 shipsets of GPMS Foresight MX health and usage monitoring systems and announced it had become a certified GPMS installer. Black Widow modernizes civil Black Hawks with a variety of equipment including touchscreen glass cockpits, the BLR FastFin system, external ventral tank, upgraded exhaust systems, rescue hoists, and new paint and interior.
Black Widow selected the Foresight system due to its ability to reduce overall operating costs which translates into “increased aircraft availability,” said Alex Freidin, Black Widow v-p of commercial and flight operations.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
For an aircraft, what is the effect on the landing distance when crossing the threshold 10 feet above the required threshold crossing height?
A. A 20-foot increase in the landing distance.
B. No effect, as the excessive height will bleed off during the flare.
C. No effect for aircraft with fixed landing gear.
D. A 200-foot increase in the landing distance.
5G & Business Jets—What does this mean for your flying?
As the deployment of 5G cellular towers have come online, the rules and advisories are different for every aircraft and for every operation scenario. Learn about how radar altimeters work with your avionics subsystems, what to watch for, and how these new regulations will affect your flight operations in the business jet market. Webinar sponsored by Collins Avionics. Register today!
AINalerts News Tips/Feedback: News tips may be sent anonymously, but feedback must include name and contact info (we will withhold name on request). We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length, clarity and grammar. Send feedback or news tips to AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter.
AINalerts is a publication of AIN Media Group, 214 Franklin Avenue, Midland Park, New Jersey. Copyright 2023. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.
