Aireon’s space-based ADS-B air traffic management system is now fully operational and in trial use over the North Atlantic, the company announced this morning. The system can track ADS-B equipped aircraft worldwide in real time, Aerion said, adding the announcement ushers in a new era of safety.
“Our air transportation system has operated with a safe but less-than-efficient system in the 70 percent of the world that does not have real-time surveillance,” said Aireon CEO Don Thoma. “With the launch of our space-based ADS-B service, Aireon now provides a real-time solution to that challenge, one that will radically optimize flight safety and efficiency.”
The system, which has been in the works for eight years, uses the Iridium Next satellite constellation, which completed deployment in January. Aireon since has completed payload testing, validation, and calibration. Under the trial, controllers will be able to reduce in-trail separation distances from 40 nm to as little as 14 nm. With improved visibility and control over previously un-surveilled airspace, operators will be able to fly at more optimal routes and speeds, saving money and reducing emissions, Aireon added.
Nav Canada and NATs are the first air navigation service providers to use the space-based service. “To know the position, speed and altitude of every ADS-B equipped aircraft in oceanic airspace—in real time—is a transformational change to how our controllers manage air traffic,” said Neil Wilson, president and CEO of Nav Canada.
Citi: After Strong 2018, Preowned Market Quieting
The preowned business jet market appears to be quieting from the active fall period, but aircraft brokers are remaining busy, according to Citi Aerospace & Defense analysts. Citi recently hosted business aviation brokers for a discussion of market trends, finding “overall sentiment was more muted versus the last time we hosted this event in September.” But Citi acknowledged the fall was marked by high transaction volumes and added that a slowdown is inevitable. “While the business jet narrative rode high through 2018 supported by tax cuts and business confidence, we think it will be a tough act to follow in 2019.”
The market slowed, especially for light jets, following the NBAA convention last fall with a more tumultuous stock market in December, Citi said, adding that anecdotally, stock market turmoil played a role in scuttling some deals.
Uncertainties surrounding a European slowdown or Brexit may play a greater role in the market this year, Citi added. “We sense there are more worries about what ‘could be’ versus ‘what is.’”
Even so, Citi added, “Things are a bit better year-to-date,” and said the preowned market remains strong.
Saudi Arabia has 10 aircraft management companies operating on Part 125 certification (private) and six on Part 121 special unscheduled (commercial), and the industry can expect to add 200 helicopters to the fleet, a NasJet official said at Corporate Jet Investor Dubai on Monday.
COO Yosef Hafiz said approximately 155 aircraft were in the Saudi fleet in 2017, with an average age of 15.5 years. The fleet reached a peak of around 170 aircraft in 2015, and he expects fleet renewal around 2020.
“We had a peak in 2015…and then it dipped down in 2016 and 2017, and we probably expect it to dip even further in 2018 and 2019,” he said. “That's not necessarily a bad thing. There are a lot of changes happening in the market.”
Government leaders, especially ministers, are choosing to fly private, he said. Foreign companies will be allowed to set up without a local partner. Megaprojects and entertainment are driving growth.
“I know that people are hungry for information [on] what's happening in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “Management companies and operators within Saudi will expand in number in the near future."
PHI International Implementing Risk-monitoring Software
PHI International (formerly HNZ) is implementing Ideagan’s risk-monitoring and -control Coruson software. The enterprise cloud-based system enables real-time risk control, visibility, and reporting. With Coruson, PHI International will become the first operator in the helicopter industry to combine comprehensive bow-tie risk models with aspects of safety reporting and auditing.
“Many places we fly to have dynamic and fast-changing operating conditions, and it is critical that we have the best possible systems in place to help us manage any risks as they emerge. Coruson gives us real-time monitoring of hazards and risks in every location,” said Robert Cavers, PHI International’s safety and quality director. “We fly helicopters in extreme environments all over the world from offshore Western Australia to the ice shelves of Antarctica, every day of the year,” he said. “If a pilot is on an offshore marine pilot transfer flight and observes a hazard, he or she can report that back to us immediately by inputting it to Coruson. We can then start tracking the risk factors and making the necessary safety adjustments straight away.”
PHI International operates a fleet of more than 20 single- and twin-engine helicopters in New Zealand, Australia, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Antarctica. Coruson customers include Jaguar, Land Rover, Haeco, Johnson Matthey, Air Asia, British Airways, Ryanair, and Telefonica.
Paragon Network Adds South Carolina FBO
Lowcountry Aviation, one of two service providers at South Carolina’s Lowcountry Regional Airport, is the latest to be accepted into the Paragon Network. Located just outside Charleston, the recently remodeled full-service FBO features a private passenger lounge, pilot lounge, conference room, BMW crew car, more than 30,000 sq ft of hangar space, a new fuel farm, and an FAA Part 145 repair station.
"Paragon Aviation Group supplies its members with a real-time perspective of the evolving global aviation marketplace,” said Marco Cavazzoni, chairman of the facility. “We are thrilled to benefit from and contribute the Paragon Network by providing FAA Part 145 maintenance and FBO services to all network customers."
To join the network, which was founded in 2011 and now numbers 56 locations worldwide, FBOs undergo a facility audit conducted by Paragon. Each member FBO must also comply with a set of core standards to remain in the group. Clients using the network are eligible for Paragon Preferred status, which includes access to custom fuel pricing, dispatching of fuel requests to network locations, and reservations through the group’s website.
“We are beyond thrilled to add an FBO member in the Charleston area,” said Paragon president Megan Barnes. “Lowcountry Aviation is an elite facility and a great addition to the Paragon network.”
JetAviva Adds Analysts To Support Sales Ops
Business aircraft broker JetAviva has added four positions to support its sales staff with analysis of market trends and activities, the Kansas City, Kansas-based firm announced today. Its new sales advisors will track core markets identified by JetAviva and collect market data to support JetAviva’s team of 12 sales directors in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
“With so much activity in the business aviation markets, it is impossible for one [sales]person to do it all with maximum effectiveness for the client base,” said JetAviva CEO Tim White. “With the support from our newly appointed sales advisors, we now have the ability to capture and analyze data with levels of both quality and quantity that I feel are unmatched in this industry. Accurate data is indeed paramount to the timeliness of a sale, but it also provides our customers with a high level of confidence that the aircraft they are buying or selling is at optimal value in the marketplace.”
The four new advisors are Max Oberbroeckling, Dustin Walker, Jordan Scales, and Collin Weems, each of whom will follow dedicated markets, enabling them to develop expertise with those markets. With their hiring, JetAviva also will expand the number of markets it covers in its Monthly Market Updates that follows turbine aircraft market values and trends.
Essinta Labs Rebrands Its FBO Management Software
Florida-based FBO software provider Essinta Labs has rebranded EssintaWings, its management and point-of-sale program, as FBO Director. Since its release two years ago, the system has processed more than 60,000 transactions worth approximately $35 million.
According to its developers, the renamed program offers a user-friendly interface and handles invoice and payment acceptance, tax and discount application, as well as fuel and inventory management. FBO Director's automation and integration with other core FBO programs will enable customer service staff to focus on running the FBO, the company added.
“FBO Director more properly reflects our passion and commitment to the general aviation industry, as well as pays homage to our experience and expertise in this market,” said company president John Nelson, who released the company’s first aviation industry program in 1996. “No other software company in this space has a comparable track record for delivering easy-to-use, efficient, and automated general aviation software.”
BBGA Honors Inflite CEO Penny Stephens
The British Business Aviation Association (BBGA) recently presented its Michael Wheatley Award to Penny Stephens, CEO of Inflite The Jet Centre. The award recognizes outstanding services to the general aviation industry.
BBGA CEO Marc Bailey credited Stephens for evolving “a family-run, independent business into a thriving, international-focused concern in MRO and executive aviation handling for over three decades, without losing any of those family-held values.”
Stephens learned to fly at 17 and began working at Thurston Aviation, initially as a secretary and later moving into administration. She joined Inflite, the aviation company run by her husband Ray Stephens, in 1992. There, she became involved in all aspects of the MRO business, signing legacy airlines such as Aer Lingus and Lufthansa to support their BAE 146 regional jets. More than a decade later she redesigned the offices and agreed to support the new Embraer Legacy. Now, the MRO is the largest EMEA-authorized service center for the Legacy, Lineage, and Phenom series. By 2012, as CEO, she had steered the business into an international center catering to VIP guests.
AIN’s Tales from the Flight Deck Podcast: Flight Deck Automation after Indonesia and Ethiopia
After the Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, the question is whether cockpit automation is working for pilots or pilots are working for the automation. We talk with the pilot of Qantas Flight 72, An Airbus A330 that pitched down without control input and without warning a decade ago. The pilot of that aircraft says of the Max 8 accidents, “The road is different, but the destination is the same.” Our roundtable of pilots and aviation journalists looks at the growing complexity of flight deck automation, our increasing dependence on it and the lack of training available to pilots for cases in which the automation fails.
Hartzell Propeller appointed JJ Frigge executive v-p and general manager, serving as the company’s business leader with a focus on long-term strategy. Frigge began at Hartzell in 2011 as the company's controller after serving as a finance manager at Procter & Gamble for 10 years.
Hal Martin joined Aerion as v-p of global supply chain. Martin brings a lengthy background in supply chain management, holding leadership positions with Aerojet Rocketdyne, Cobham Aerospace and Defense, and Honeywell, among others.
Marc Bouliane joined Universal Avionics as v-p of strategic business development. Bouliane, who has 25 years of aerospace experience, spent 12 years with Esterline Avionics Systems and CMC Electronics, where he was most recently product director for Avionics Display Solutions, and also has served with Bombardier Aerospace.
Charlie Carroll was appointed avionics sales manager for C&L Aviation Group. Carroll has more than 35 years of experience, previously holding roles as director of sales for Precision Aircraft Services and as the U.S. Southeast region marketing manager for Universal Avionics.
The Citation Jet Pilots Owner Pilot Association (CJP) named four recipients for the 2019 Bob Hoover Presidential Scholarships: Brandon Baber, a junior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Daytona; Jacob Cook, a junior at ERAU Daytona; Matthew Gailey, a junior at ERAU Prescott; and Otto Maytag, a sophomore at ERAU Prescott. The scholarship, which provides $25,000 toward their aviation-related studies at ERAU as well as networking opportunities, is presented in partnership between the CJP Safety and Education Foundation and the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation. Since established in 2013, the scholarships have been awarded to 13 students.
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