StandardAero Sees ‘Boon’ of Mx Activity in Recent Weeks

In the past few weeks, StandardAero’s MRO business in the U.S. has seen an uptick as business aircraft operators look to take care of some maintenance during a downturn in flight activity brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. “It’s been a huge boon of activity and our facilities have been jammed,” StandardAero business aviation division president Marc Drobny told AIN this week.

With the surge, Drobny estimated business was up 15 to 20 percent from where the company expected to be, and 30 percent higher than the same period last year. It’s meant that StandardAero hasn’t had to trim work hours or capacity at its three U.S. facilities in Augusta, Georgia; Houston, Texas; and Springfield, Illinois. In fact, Drobny explained, StandardAero brought in some additional contractors with special skills, such as aircraft painting, to keep up with the higher demand.

In some instances, the maintenance work it is doing now was scheduled for later in the year, so the company could very well be looking at a lull in activity later, Drobny acknowledged. “We’re trying to be really careful, keeping an eye on operational tempo to make sure we’re prepared for whatever might be coming our way,” he said. “But at this point, the business aviation side of the StandardAero portfolio is extremely busy.”

NATA, NBAA Seeks Clearer Guidance for CARES Act Aid

Concerned that guidance released on obtaining grants and loans specified in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) were crafted for commercial airlines and other large operations, NBAA and NATA jointly appealed to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for additional guidance addressing general aviation operations that also qualify for the aid. Both Part 135 operators and certain FBO and maintenance organizations qualify for portions of the nearly $80 billion in grants and loans designated for the aviation industry.

“The scale and business operations of general aviation air carriers and FBOs are significantly different than those of scheduled passenger and cargo air carriers,” the associations told Mnuchin in a letter. This scale presents unique challenges in meeting the guidance since it is tailored for scheduled airlines.

“For the air carrier loan program, general aviation operators generally do not track available seat miles, revenue per seat mile, and cost per available seat miles as they conduct on-demand operations,” they told the secretary. “We welcome the opportunity to work with you on developing additional measures to more accurately measure the service provided by a general aviation air carrier.”

The associations stressed the importance of the business and general aviation industry and the critical missions it supports. “These companies need both near and medium to long-term relief to survive and continue providing service,” they said.

EBAA and GAMA Issue Action Plan To Safeguard Bizav

EBAA has called on European governments to take urgent steps to safeguard the future of the industry, while ensuring that in the short term it can continue to support efforts to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In an open letter sent jointly with GAMA and national industry groups, EBAA presented an action plan including relaxation of some travel restrictions, the extension of pilot licenses and airworthiness certificates, and financial aid through guarantees, credit, and the suspension of taxes and fees.

The letter pointed out that business aircraft are being used for essential operations such as providing medical services and the repatriation of displaced people to their home countries. EBAA urged authorities in the European Union, Switzerland, and the UK to be more flexible over travel restrictions and even suspend bans on flights that meet the requirements of the World Health Organization.

The associations said they support the efforts agreed by the European Aviation Safety Agency and national authorities to grant extensions to licenses and certificates. They stated that many business aircraft pilots cannot currently travel to the simulators they need for recurrent training since many of these are located outside Europe.

On April 7, at 12 noon EDT, EBAA secretary general Athar Husain Khan and GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce will be panelists for a special AIN webinar (free registration) to discuss business aviation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

WingX: Worldwide Bizav Flying Falls 30% in March

Worldwide business aviation departures fell 30 percent year-over-year last month as the Covid-19 crisis took hold, according to data released today by WingX Advance. Activity in Europe was down by 34 percent, while that for the U.S. dropped 30 percent.

In Europe, there were 17,800 fewer flights flown month-on-month, with declines accelerating toward the end of March, with the last few days seeing close to 50 percent reductions, WingX said. Activity in Italy plummeted 70 percent year-over-year last month, while France was down 43 percent; Germany, down 30 percent, and the UK, down 23 percent. Sweden was a bright spot, reporting that business aviation flying there rose 1.3 percent in March. Like Europe, Asia saw trends closer to a 35 percent decline.

Meanwhile, the March decline in the U.S. equates to more than 100,000 business aviation flights month-on-month. The first half of the month saw modest turbulence, with declines accelerating from there. In fact, WingX said flight activity fell 66 percent on March 31 from a year ago.

“The abruptness of the decline in business aviation activity last month is only comparable to the effect of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption back in 2010, only with much longer and more severe consequences,” said WingX managing director Richard Koe. “WingX expects a trough in flight activity in April, [but] we might see renewed demand by the summer.”

Appareo Unveils Stratus Insight EFB App

Appareo has released the first version of its new Insight electronic flight bag (EFB) app, the result of Appareo’s purchase last June of EFB app developer Aerovie. Insight combines Aerovie with Appareo’s previously developed ATC radio transcription and playback feature.

Insight is a full-featured EFB app with flight planning, synthetic vision, and ADS-B In traffic and weather enabled by Appareo’s Stratus receivers. It works with all generations of Stratus receivers and, for those with AHRS capability, the app offers a synthetic vision view with attitude display. Without the receiver, the synthetic vision still works, minus the attitude display.

Available for Apple iOS devices, Insight runs on the iPad and iPhone. All FAA Aeronav charts can be downloaded, including VFR sectional maps, IFR low/high charts, and georeferenced approach plates. A terrain database supports a terrain awareness and warning system-type overlay, and this provides visual and aural alerts when flying too close to the ground. Alerts are also provided to warn the pilot when nearing a runway while taxiing. All of the aural alerts are available via Bluetooth on compatible headsets and audio panels.

The most interesting feature added to Insight is Appareo’s ATC radio transcription and playback. This was already available in Appareo’s Stratus Horizon Pro app, but now it is bundled with Insight.

JetHQ Makes U.S. Its Base

Aircraft broker and consultancy JetHQ is now a U.S.-based company with headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. It has completed the process of moving its headquarters from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which previously served as its international headquarters, in an effort to better serve growth for its domestic divisions.

“This move is about allocating resources to better serve our customers in the areas of the most growth—the United States,” said JetHQ founder and managing director Garett Jerde. “This allows us to continue to expand while maintaining the dedicated level of responsiveness and support our clients expect from our team. Being U.S. based opens up more resources to show our expertise and service.”

With a doubling of its team in the U.S. in the past year, the broker expects the move to maximize sales territorial efficiency, reporting, and client services. Late last year JetHQ opened an East Coast office at Million Air in White Plains, New York. It also plans to expand to the U.S. West Coast by adding a sales director there. It will continue to operate its Dubai office, as well as satellite locations in the UK, India, South Africa, Switzerland, and Turkey.

Study Examines Bizav Audit Programs

A recent study of business aviation auditing protocols by industry researcher Citadel Consulting has determined that Wyvern’s Wingman program hewed most closely with the ICAO source documents.

The audit protocol analysis prepared for Wyvern by industry authority Christopher Broyhill compared its program, along with those of three other competitors, to the source documents for the protocols: ICAO Annex 6, Part 1, operation of aircraft, and Annex 19, safety management.

Of the 95 compliance items listed in Annex 6, Part 1, only the Wyvern protocol addressed all of them, according to the study, which found only the Wyvern protocols to align 100 percent with the elements of the Annex.

While all four audit protocols addressed in some form the basic elements of the safety management system (SMS) as stated in Annex 19, as per the study, only Wyvern and IS-BAO provided for detailed analysis of the customer’s SMS and the behavior of the organization itself, not simply what was present in the organization’s manuals. Additionally, the study found that those two protocols provided detail for the evaluation of safety data collection, and the sharing of such data, while the others did not.

Air BP Providing Free Fuel To UK Air Ambulances

Responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, Air BP is providing free jet fuel for a number of UK air ambulance helicopter services during the month of April. The services include Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, Wales Air Ambulance Charity, and Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Great Western Air Ambulance receive fuel directly from Air BP.  Wales Air Ambulance and Midlands Air Ambulance Charity are supplied by Air BP customer Babcock International. This follows BP’s earlier announcement that it is supplying free fuel to the UK’s emergency services ground transport vehicles.

“We are pleased to be able to play a small part and support these emergency service organizations as they continue to provide a critical service to communities in these difficult times. Our commitment to safe, reliable fueling operations remains unwavering, and we’re grateful for the hard work of our front-line Air BP operators who continue to enable us to meet the needs of our customers,” said Air BP CEO Jon Platt.

The helicopter air ambulances are based in Almondsbury, Gloucestershire (Great Western); Strensham, Shropshire and Cosford, Worcestershire (Midlands); Dafen, Carmarthenshire (Wales); and Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire, and Yorkshire (Yorkshire).

Important Events Note

While there have been many cancelations and postponements of important events during the Covid-19 crisis, AIN remains committed to covering the business aviation industry. Please send any news and press releases, especially related to events you had been planning to attend, to ctrautvetter@ainonline.com and we will endeavor to help share your news. The Thursday AINalerts calendar will resume after event schedules firm up following the coronavirus pandemic.

Here’s What It Will Take To Make Urban Air Mobility a Reality

Looking beyond the aviation industry’s short-term challenges, pioneers of so-called urban air mobility are stepping up plans to transform the way people and things move around, especially in crowded areas. In the first in a series of videos, AIN’s new FutureFlight resource considers the challenges and opportunities facing more than 200 companies now developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and others working on the infrastructure needed to support operations. We talk to experts Michael Dyment at Nexa Capital Partners and Michael Hirschberg from the Vertical Flight Society.