JetNet iQ: Covid-19 Could Halve 2020 Bizjet Deliveries

Business jet deliveries this year are projected to be down by between 12.5 percent and almost 50 percent year-over-year due to the Covid-19 crisis, depending on its lingering effects on aircraft demand and supply, JetNet iQ director Rolland Vincent said in today’s inaugural issue of JetNet iQ Pulse. Before the pandemic, the business aviation analyst and consulting firm projected 730 business jet shipments this year; it now foresees about 640 deliveries as the best-case scenario and about 375 as worst-case.

While Vincent is expecting a U-shaped post-Covid-19 recovery in 2021, all of his scenarios show fewer deliveries than previously estimated over the next two years, with recovery to the prior forecast trend line unlikely before 2023 at the earliest. That means about 600 business jet shipments each in 2021 and 2022 versus previously forecast 705 and 656, respectively. The aligned forecasts in 2023 are for 615 aircraft, rising modestly to 623 and 646 in the following two years.

“The Covid-19 crisis is already the most fundamental shock—the black swan of swans—to ever get sucked into the engine of business aviation,” Vincent wrote. “Covid-19 is now expected to trigger a global economic recession, putting an end to business aviation’s long, slow, and unsteady recovery in the post-2008 period.”

FAA Extends, Adds Req To NBAA Small Aircraft Exemption

The FAA’s latest extension of the NBAA Small Aircraft Exemption is accompanied by a new filing requirement, according to the association. Extended through March 31, 2022, the exemption enables operators of piston aircraft, small turbine aircraft, and rotorcraft to take advantage of certain flexibilities provided to larger, turbine-powered aircraft, such as use of alternative maintenance programs and limited cost-reimbursement for flights conducted under Part 91 Subpart F. That subpart facilitates agreements such as time-sharing, interchange, and joint ownership.

However, effective September 27, operators that use the exemption must file a “Notice of Joinder to FAA Exemption No. 7897K.” Operators can file electronically, NBAA said, but must furnish contact information, an NBAA membership number, a statement requesting that FAA append the Notice of Joinder to the NBAA exemption list, a statement that the operator will not fly under the exemption if it ceases to be an NBAA member, and an attestation that the operator will comply with all conditions and limitations of exemption.

Further, the operator must provide a copy of any time-sharing, interchange, or joint ownership agreement, added Doug Carr, v-p of regulatory and international affairs. NBAA plans to create a form to ease compliance with the new reporting requirements.

Textron Aviation Begins Mask, Face Shield Production

Textron Aviation began production this week of plastic face shields and cloth face masks for healthcare providers and its own employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. A team from its process engineering department began production of the items as a response to shortages of these supplies.

The Wichita airframer said it is collaborating with Wichita State University to manufacture face shields from optically clear PET film. They first tested and adapted the open-source design of the shields. Using the company’s large Gerber cutter, the process engineering team began producing them.

It also settled on mask production after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended cloth or fabric face coverings for people who are in public spaces. Textron expects to produce thousands of cloth face masks that it said can be laundered and reused. It hopes that will free up the more-effective N95 and surgical masks for medical staff and first responders. Over the past two weeks, the manufacturer of Beechcraft and Cessna airplanes has donated about 7,500 N95 masks and other personal protective equipment to healthcare providers and first responders locally and throughout Kansas.

XO Launches Supply Flights for NYC Med Providers

Online charter platform XO will make all of its inbound flights to New York City available for transport of medical equipment and products for hospitals there dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. “Our team at XO is continuously working to support our community at large during this difficult time,” said XO chief commercial officer Ron Silverman. “Knowing that New York City is the most impacted city in our country, our goal is to assist hospitals and their medical partners, to transport needed supplies in a timely manner, from cities across the country.”

With a daily, updated flight schedule, XO will highlight direct flights to the tri-state area. It has set up a web page for information on how medical providers and hospitals can contact it directly.

The flights will be supported by parent company Vista Global and VistaJet, which earlier began offering complimentary empty leg flights on its fleet of 115 aircraft to governments—such as for repatriation—and medical organizations with critical travel requirements during the pandemic. Vista Global said it would also assist with the necessary permits and paperwork.

North Atlantic Datalink Mandate Waived through June 30

International regulators have agreed to suspend the North Atlantic Datalink Mandate (NAT DLM) for three months to provide more flexibility for aircraft that fly through the region during the Covid-19 crisis, NBAA reported. Approved by the partners in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s North Atlantic System Planning Group, the NAT DLM is waived through June 30.

The mandate requires aircraft to be equipped with FANS 1/A controller-pilot datalink communications and ADS-C (contact) equipment to transit through the North Atlantic tracks from FL290 to FL410. The FAA has issued Notams on the waiver.

“The deepening Covid-19 crisis is an extraordinary situation that requires consideration of all options that would benefit NAT operators while maintaining the safety of operations,” ICAO said. “While acknowledging that the level of FANS 1/A datalink equipage in the NAT is very high (around 95 percent), due to the current significant reduction in traffic levels, most of the aircraft fleets are currently grounded, it is also recognized that there may be situations where, due to this crisis situation, aircraft operators may need to dispatch non-DLM compliant aircraft to operate in the NAT.”

CBAA Urges Government Relief for Canadian Bizav

In response to the economic chaos prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA) sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau highlighting the utility of the country’s $12.1 billion business aviation sector during these trying times and requesting relief measures from the government.

Among the slate of suggestions: that the government rejects any additional taxes on any type of aircraft (i.e. the proposed 10 percent “luxury tax”), as business aircraft are a critical transportation asset that supports Canadian essential travel; a suspension of airport headlease rent payments, conditional upon such reductions being passed directly to on-field operators across the nation; a payroll credit equivalent to half of pilot and cabin crew training expenses for newly-registered Canadian aircraft, to spur new aircraft acquisitions once the pandemic has passed; a temporary suspension of all federal and carbon taxes on jet fuel; federal financial assistance for air navigation charges incurred for essential and repatriation flights during this pandemic period; and that the government should pause all regulatory implementation and consultation processes that are not related to the pandemic.

Looking ahead, CBAA suggests that the government offer stimulus programs to encourage the purchase and use of business aircraft and services, which would benefit Canadian employers such as Bombardier, CAE, and Pratt & Whitney Canada, as well as hundreds of other smaller business aviation companies.

CAE Expands Temporary Layoffs

Training specialist CAE is expanding its temporary layoffs to 2,600 workers and taking other measures to shore up its financial position as the Covid-19 crisis continues. The temporary layoffs announced on Monday followed initial layoff notices that went out last month to 465 employees. When detailing those initial layoffs on March 23, the company had cautioned that future actions were under evaluation and more could be issued in the “coming days.” In addition to temporary layoffs, the company, which employs 10,500 in all, is placing another 900 employees on a reduced workweek.

CAE is continuing to support its customers, the company added, but said its civil aviation operations have been most affected by the crisis. “Taking decisive yet flexible action will help to protect our people and operations over the short term and gives us the necessary agility to resume long-term growth when global air travel returns,” said CAE president and CEO Marc Parent.

Further, CAE has looked at other areas to cut costs, including reducing capital expenditures and research and development investments and reducing salaries, it said. CAE also has suspended dividend payments, as well as share repurchases.

Meanwhile, the global simulator training provider is seeking government emergency relief to mitigate the financial impact, and said as assistance programs are finalized, “CAE will do everything it can to recall as many employees as possible.”

Sustainable Aviation and UAM Experts To Meet Virtually

Foresight Aerospace is presenting its conference on Accelerating Sustainable Aviation and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) as a “live virtual conference” on May 19. The event, which had been due to be staged in London, will focus on multiple aspects of efforts to introduce electric-powered aircraft and implement new business models for moving people and things.

The agenda starts with a discussion of future aerospace policy and industrial strategy in a session led by Gary Cutts, challenge director for future flight with the British government’s UK Research and Innovation agency. This session will also feature Harriet Wollerton, program director of the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme, which is backed by UK industry association ADS, represented by head of innovation and engineering Sameer Savani.

The conference also promises updates on specific eVTOL aircraft programs, with companies represented including Jaunt Air Mobility, Vertical Aerospace, EHang, EmbraerX, and VRCO. There will also be presentations by developers of electric-, hybrid- and hydrogen-powered fixed-wing aircraft, including ZeroAvia, VoltAero, Faradair Aerospace, and H55. Rolls-Royce’s head of environmental technology, Adam Morton, will outline the engine maker’s plans to support moves toward carbon neutrality.