St. Louis-based aircraft management provider and broker Gateway Jets has opened a newly constructed 13,300-sq-ft private aviation hangar at St. Louis Downtown Airport (KCPS), marking a significant milestone for the growing aviation company.

Gateway specializes in Cessna Citation-class aircraft, and the $2 million facility’s layout can accommodate up to five midsize private jets. It was designed with corporate operators and private aircraft owners in mind, and features a secure private entrance leading into a modern executive passenger lounge, a dedicated eight-seat conference room for flight planning or client meetings, a full kitchen, and showers.

“This project reflects a long-term commitment to business aviation in the St. Louis region,” said Gateway founder and president Corey Tomczak. “We built this hangar to provide aircraft owners with an efficient, professional environment that matches the level of service we deliver in aircraft sales and management. The location, private ramp access, and modern amenities create a seamless experience for both owners and passengers.”

Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) sent training specialists to Duncan Aviation’s designated overhaul facility in Lincoln, Nebraska, to conduct four weeks of factory training on the PW308A and PW308C engines. The Duncan Aviation technicians performed their first PW308A overhaul immediately after their training was completed.

The PW308A/C training also supports the Duncan Aviation Service Program (DASP), the company’s engine maintenance program for the PW308A. As a means of reducing unexpected engine maintenance expenses, the DASP taps Duncan’s maintenance facilities, parts inventory, rental engines, and trained and experienced technicians.

P&WC’s training for the PW308A/C covered engine design, operational nuances, tools, inspection procedures, and overhaul processes. According to Duncan Aviation, this knowledge “translates directly into more efficient maintenance, faster troubleshooting, and improved reliability for customers.”

“This training gave our technicians the opportunity to learn directly from factory experts and gain a deeper understanding of the PW308A/C engine,” said Brian Harms, manager of Duncan Aviation’s Pratt & Whitney Canada overhaul shop. “They became familiar with the specialized [tools] and quickly picked up the engine’s unique characteristics. That knowledge allows us to organize our work more efficiently and deliver an even higher level of service to our customers.”

The Air Charter Safety Foundation’s (ACSF) annual Safety Symposium opened today with an immersive approach involving a scenario-driven program focused on challenges confronting operators. This marks the event’s fifth consecutive year at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s (ERAU) Daytona Beach, Florida campus.

The ACSF program, themed “A Day in the Life—The Aviation Reality Show,” also features the first time that Debi Carpenter has opened the event as president of the organization. Carpenter, who joined ACSF in 2023, took over as president last year after Bryan Burns retired. She welcomed the nearly 150 business aviation executives in attendance and the many more online, saying the goal is to move beyond theory and focus on what is happening in daily operations.

Also welcoming attendees was Robert Sumwalt, the former long-time NTSB chair and current executive director of ERAU’s Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety, which is co-hosting the event. He further praised ACSF: “You are collectively raising the bar on safety. I really worry about the people that are not here, and what are you going to do about that.” 

He added, “We are our brother’s keeper because if there’s a crash involving a Part 91 airplane or Part 135 airplane or even a Part 121 airline, the entire industry gets painted with a broad brush.”

Líder Aviação recently performed its first installation of a Gogo low-earth-orbit Galileo satcom system on a business aircraft. It installed the system on a Bombardier Global 6000. This is the aircraft’s second satcom installed by the Brazilian company; the first is a Gogo Plane Simple Ku-band geostationary orbit (GEO) system, and now the Global 6000 has multi-orbit connectivity and redundancy in case either system is unavailable.

The Plane Simple system runs on SES FlexExec’s GEO satellite network and was installed by Lider on this airplane in 2024. The Galileo system features Gogo’s HDX electronically steered antenna, which connects to Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO network. System speed is up to 60 Mbps.

“The customer specifically sought to incorporate a LEO solution into the aircraft, recognizing its cost advantages, while still delivering exceptional performance,” according to Ewerton Libanio, managing director of Gogo Brazil. “Traveling both within Brazil but also internationally, the aircraft owner wanted to keep their Gogo Plane Simple system to ensure multi-orbit redundancy. This enables broader global coverage—including remote and polar regions—while optimizing performance through lower latency, higher throughput, and intelligent traffic routing.”

The average pricing for jet cards increased and became more restrictive in the first three months of this year, according to analysis by Private Jet Card Comparisons (PJCC).

The company analyzed more than 80 providers and 1,000 programs and found that hourly rates for jet cards increased by 1.6% compared to the fourth quarter and by 2.5% from a year ago. As of March 31, the average hourly rate was $11,426, ranging from $6,729 per hour for turboprops to more than $19,000 an hour for ultra-long-range jets. Light jets averaged $8,563 per hour.

The price increases, which include fuel surcharges and the 7.5% federal excise tax, come as jet fuel prices have doubled year over year. Also rising were the daily minimums: the amount of flight time charged even if the actual flight takes less time. According to PJCC, the average daily minimums increased by 11.6% quarter to quarter and 19% year over year, indicating increasing concern by jet card providers over short flight profit margins.

“Average hourly rates only increased modestly; however, flying terms, including daily minimums, peak days, and lead time to book all increased,” said PJCC president and editor-in-chief Doug Gollan. “Since most guaranteed jet card programs have rate locks for at least 12 months, increasing the daily minimums is a de facto price increase for shorter flights.”

Piedmont Propulsion Systems—which specializes in maintenance, repair, and overhaul of airplane propellers and helicopter rotor blade components—is expanding its Winston-Salem, North Carolina maintenance facility by 13,500 sq ft to support increasing global demand. Located at Smith Reynolds Airport (KINT), the Piedmont facility—which supports a broad range of Dowty, Hamilton Sundstrand, Hartzell, and McCauley propeller systems—currently includes 66,000 sq ft of space.

According to parent company First Aviation Services, the multimillion-dollar expansion, which is expected to be operational by October, will enable Piedmont to further optimize its facility layout and production flow, as well as improve turnaround times. The redesigned workspace will also enhance shop floor ergonomics, enabling a safer and more efficient working environment while supporting lean practices across the facility.

“This expansion reflects the strong demand we continue to see for high-quality propeller maintenance services from operators around the world,” said First Aviation Services president and COO Paul Bolton. “By expanding our facility and optimizing the shop layout, we’re able to streamline workflow, support our technicians, and deliver faster turnaround times for our customers.”

Heads Up Technologies subsidiary Alto Aviation has now installed more than 100 retrofit cabin audio systems in Dassault Falcons. Alto Aviation dealers installed the 100-plus cabin audio systems in Falcon 50s, 900s, 2000s, and 7Xs, among others.

Targeted at business aviation aircraft, the Alto Aviation cabin audio system is designed to deliver “pristine audio clarity,” the company said, while also saving weight and with reduced power needs. With Alto Aviation-designed and technical standard order-certified amplifiers, loudspeakers, and subwoofers, the system integrates with existing cabin management systems.

Installation of cabin audio systems includes onsite audio tuning to “optimize sound characteristics with [the] cabin floorplan,” according to the company. “As part of this tuning, an Alto cabin systems engineer acoustically maps the full interior of [the] aircraft and adjusts the digital amplifier and speaker locations to define the optimal performance characteristics of each audio and entertainment system.”

“Reaching 100 Falcon aircraft is a proud moment for our entire team,” said Scott Sweet, v-p of sales at Heads Up Technologies. “This milestone reflects the trust that Falcon owners, operators, and completion centers place in Alto Aviation to deliver exceptional sound performance, intuitive control, and long-term reliability. It also highlights the strong partnership we’ve built within the Dassault Falcon community.”