Gulfstream Aerospace business jets have racked up 700 city-pair records, with the latest involving a flight of its flagship G700 from Taipei to Miami, the company said today. In addition to the milestone, the flight commemorates the 50-year anniversary of its first U.S. National Aeronautic Association-accredited speed record that the Gulfstream GII established in 1975 on a flight from St. John’s, Antigua, to Dakar, Senegal.

During the most recent record, on April 1, the G700 flew 7,740 nm in 14 hours 38 minutes, averaging a cruise speed of Mach 0.87.

“The last 50 years have showcased remarkable innovation and advancements in the Gulfstream fleet as we continue to raise the bar in business aviation for speed, efficiency, range, and cabin comfort,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “Gulfstream has a long tradition of introducing new technologies and capabilities with each new aircraft generation, and the G700 is no exception.”

In service for just a year, the G700 has already topped 80 city-pair records, eclipsing the rate of accrual of the G650 and G650ER—which have combined for more than 130 records. The G650ER also holds the record for the farthest, fastest flight in business aviation, traveling 8,379 nm from Singapore to Tucson, Arizona, in 15 hours 23 minutes.

Investment firm Thoma Bravo today agreed to purchase Boeing’s Digital Aviation Solutions business in an all-cash transaction valued at $10.55 billion. Expected to close by year-end, subject to regulatory approval, the deal includes Boeing’s Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, and OzRunways assets. According to Boeing, it will retain digital capabilities for the provision of predictive and diagnostic maintenance insights for commercial and defense customers that use its fleet maintenance, diagnostics, and repair services.

Boeing Digital Aviation Solutions employs about 3,900 people, including those who will remain with Boeing and those who are part of the assets being sold. Boeing said it “is working with Thoma Bravo to help ensure as seamless of a transition as possible for employees while continuing to meet the needs of customers in accordance with all obligations.”

Thoma Bravo specializes in acquiring software companies, and said it “was formed out of a mentor-mentee relationship when Carl Thoma hired Orlando Bravo at the start of his private-equity career and taught him the science of dealmaking. The two, now partners and co-founders, continue to foster a mentorship culture.”

“With a heritage dating back to the 1930s, Jeppesen has been at the forefront of technological innovation for nearly a century. We are excited to build on this track record and power its next phase of growth,” said Holden Spaht, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo.

The FAA is moving up the deployment of a modernized notam service to September. Internally targeted for the end of this year, the agency had used an accelerated schedule to shave off time for the new architecture to come online.

“A major notam system outage in January 2023 highlighted the fragility of the system and the need to speed up the modernization,” the FAA noted in announcing plans for deployment. That outage led to the passage of the Notam Improvement Act of 2023, which called on the FAA to implement a new system—with backup—by September 2024.

The FAA used a “streamlined, innovative vendor challenge to cut through the red tape to get this critical work done as fast as possible.” CGI Federal, the selected contractor, now expects to deliver the Notam Modernization Service by July, putting it on pace to become operational in September.

Noting that more than four million notams are issued annually, the FAA said the modernization will facilitate a more efficient flow of data and stakeholder collaboration. Hosted in a secure site in the cloud, the service will be scalable and incorporate resilient architecture.

AOPA said the revamped notam service “is being built from the ground up as a truly modern, 21st-century product, with performance and stability at its core.”

Argus International has reported a 1% increase in first-quarter business aircraft flight activity. This growth, while slight, signals a shift in trends following more than two years of consistent declines, offering a glimpse of optimism for the sector moving forward.

Argus’ latest data highlights a mixed picture across different sectors of business aviation. The North American market saw positive results, particularly in the fractional and Part 135 categories, which reported solid growth. Fractional activity was the standout, increasing 7.1% year over year. Meanwhile, Part 135 operations saw a 2.2% increase, continuing a four-month streak of yearly gains. However, Part 91 operations, which involve general aviation flights, experienced a slight decline of 0.9%.

In contrast, the large-cabin jet sector, which is typically more sensitive to economic fluctuations, continued to underperform with a 1.9% decrease in activity compared to March 2024. On the other hand, turboprops demonstrated the strongest growth in the month, up by 3.6%, while midsize jets also recorded a healthy 3.1% increase.

Europe, which is experiencing its own set of challenges, recorded a decrease of 2.7% in flight activity for March 2025, reflecting a broader regional trend. The forecast for April is slightly less optimistic, with TraqPak analysts projecting a 1.2% decrease in North American flight activity and a 5.1% decline in Europe.

The business aviation market is growing, and Thornton Aviation is growing, too, providing much needed capacity and expertise. 

The HondaJet Owners & Pilots Association (HJOPA) has released a video and developed a training program that outline the correct landing technique for the HA-420 HondaJet. A spate of recent and past HondaJet runway excursions has raised concerns in the business aviation community, and HJOPA chair of safety and board member David DeCurtis is leading the effort to make sure HondaJet pilots understand precisely how to prevent them.

According to AIN research, there have been 21 HondaJet runway excursions, including nine since publication of this comparison of excursions between aircraft types on Sept. 1, 2023. The latest took place at Chubu Centrair International Airport (RJGG) in Japan on April 13.

The new HJOPA Proficient Pilot Program (P3) is multi-pronged, according to DeCurtis. It consists of a video showing why it’s important to use the correct technique when landing a HondaJet and how to do it, a mentorship component, and data gathering using AirSync hardware to capture flight data that is then uploaded to ForeFlight’s CloudAhoy flight debriefing software for post-flight analysis.

HJOPA, Honda Aircraft, and HondaJet training provider FlightSafety International worked together to produce the video, according to DeCurtis.

While some airports are facing pressure and discord from their local communities, Florida’s Naples Municipal Airport (KAPF) isn’t among them, according to the results of a recent survey. Conducted on behalf of the airport authority by an independent research and polling firm, the 37-question survey was provided via phone and text to nearly 1,500 randomly sampled residents of the city of Naples and its surrounding Collier County.

According to the results, an overwhelming 82.9% of Naples residents viewed KAPF as important to the community, while for the remainder of the county that sentiment was nearly 80%. While the relocation of the airport has been discussed, 63% of Naples residents and nearly 61% of the county said it’s just fine where it is.

Naples Airport Authority executive director Chris Rozansky noted that the survey revealed insufficient understanding regarding the airport’s funding and flight route planning among community residents. He said most were unaware that KAPF receives no local tax dollars, with its revenue generated entirely from airport operations, and that they also did not know that the FAA generates flight routes, not the airport.

However, when informed of the airport’s $781 million annual economic impact on the area, its favorable impressions rose from 60.6% to nearly 83% in Naples and from 58.4% to more than 90% in the remaining county.

Gogo, working with Gulfstream and Jet Aviation, obtained supplemental type certification (STC) from EASA for a direct current (DC) variant of its Plane Simple Ka-band tail-mount terminal aboard the Gulfstream G280. The STC marked the first regulatory approval for a Plane Simple terminal powered by a DC flow rather than alternating current.

Available in the aftermarket through authorized Gulfstream and Jet Aviation service centers, the DC variant supports Viasat Jet ConneX service, maximizing global connectivity aboard the G280 and enabling heavy digital applications such as video streaming, live TV, video calls, file transfers, gaming, and virtual private networks.

Connecting to Viasat GX satellites, the DC variant will be capable of linking to future next-generation GX satellites transmitting dual-polarity signals, more than doubling the amount of data transmitted and received, Gogo said.

Jet Aviation installed the terminal on the super-midsize business jet at its maintenance center in Basel, Switzerland, for a German automotive supplier. Gogo developed the hardware in partnership with aeronautical antenna provider QEST. The terminal comprises two line replaceable units, a modem unit, and the tail-mount antenna.

“The latest STC in our growing portfolio showcases our commitment to delivering a portfolio of products that enables every type of business aircraft operator to access our connectivity services,” said Dave Falberg, senior v-p of sales in the EMEA region for Gogo.

Following yesterday’s passing of Pope Francis, Italian transportation officials are preparing for the arrival of millions of mourners, including world leaders and other dignitaries. Global trip support provider Universal Weather and Aviation reports that business aircraft operators headed to Rome should expect significant procedural changes over the coming days.

The Eternal City’s airport authority immediately implemented a suspension of all prior permission required (PPR) releases for April 24 through April 30 at Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport (LIRF) and Ciampino Airport (LIRA). All PPR requests will now be reviewed and approved on a daily basis with no advance guarantees during this period.

Once a PPR is approved, any modifications, including date of arrival, operator, or even aircraft type, will result in cancellation of the existing approval. Cancellations of approved PPRs within 48 hours of scheduled arrival could result in possible penalties of €500.

Universal Italy is awaiting the release of official notams specific to the funeral and subsequent ceremonies, which could result in temporary flight restrictions and airspace closures. As well, it expects to relay information on VIP handling protocols, diplomatic clearance requirements, and any special security measures that will affect business aviation operations.

In the meantime, the company advises operators to file all requests as early as possible, identify alternate airports outside Rome for repositioning, and allow for significant delays.