World Fuel Services To Acquire UVair in $170M Deal

World Fuel Services is acquiring Universal Weather and Aviation’s UVair fuel business for $170 million, the companies announced today. According to World Fuel, the deal is expected to close by year-end and will be funded through cash-on-hand and liquidity available through an existing unsecured credit facility.

Houston-based UVair serves business and general aviation customers at more than 5,000 locations worldwide. While Universal will retain its international trip planning services business, the UVair deal includes an agreement for Universal to work exclusively with World Fuel to supply fuel to its customers.

“This strategic acquisition…will further enhance our global business and general aviation fuel platform,” said World Fuel chairman and CEO Michael Kasbar. “We look forward to welcoming UVair’s fuel customers and providing them and Universal’s international trip planning customers with access to our global fuel supply network.”

"This sale of UVair will enable us to continue to invest and grow,” said Universal chairman Greg Evans. “We will continue to invest in our digital platforms. We will also continue to expand our global footprint, grow our global concierge network, invest in and add new catering locations as Air Culinaire Worldwide continues to thrive, and build on our recently announced joint venture with Drivania to provide a truly global transportation solution.”

Next Recession Leaves Airframers Without Safety Net

The next recession won’t cut as deep for business aviation as the one in 2008, but it will lack the safety net that emerging markets provided airframers 11 years ago, according to a new report released today by industry analyst Brian Foley. 

Business aviation shouldn’t see a more than 10 percent to 20 percent correction from the next recession, which is lower than the effects of a typical recession (about a 30 percent correction), he said. Unlike the last recession, however, the absence of strong, emerging markets—as was the case in 2008—means there’s nothing for OEMs to fall back on should recession strike.

“There is no world region today that could sustain current business jet delivery levels should markets again decline,” Foley explained. “With several forecasts predicting a U.S. economic slowdown beginning in a year or two, it's unlikely emerging markets will have enough time to recover to again act as a backstop.”

What that leaves in the event of a next recession is “too many manufacturers” offering 41 models vying for a market that annually accounts for about 700 units, he noted. And the up to 20 percent correction predicted by Foley could bring that count down to as low as 550 units, “making that pie even more coveted in a crowded market,” he concluded.

Sweden To Acquire Six PC-24s for Air Ambulance Service

Swedish air ambulance operator Svenskt Ambulansflyg will purchase six PC-24 twinjets from Pilatus, making it the first European operator to acquire the type for emergency medical transport, the Swiss airframer announced yesterday. To be handed over in a medically equipped configuration, the PC-24 deliveries are expected in 2021. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but at list price the deal would be worth $64.2 million.

Svenskt Ambulansflyg officials said the acquisition represents a milestone in establishing a national air ambulance service in Sweden serving the country’s 21 regions. “The performance and capacity of the PC-24 combined with the spacious and easily reconfigurable emergency medical service equipped cabin will allow us to conduct the required air ambulance missions safely and efficiently,” Svenskt Ambulansflyg CEO Andreas Eriksson said. “We look forward to a close and successful cooperation with Pilatus.”

Pilatus officials described the process that led to the PC-24’s selection as “extremely intensive.” “I’m also particularly happy that we managed to carry the day with our Swiss aircraft in a highly competitive market segment,” Pilatus chairman Oscar Schwenk said. “We see further worldwide market potential for our PC-24 in this area.”

Pilatus has also delivered medically equipped PC-24s to the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Australia.

L.J. Aviation Fleet Grows with Challenger 350 Additions

Charter and management firm L.J. Aviation added two new Bombardier Challenger 350 business jets to its aircraft management fleet. The Challengers, available for charter in the Mid-Atlantic region, boost the Latrobe, Pennsylvania-based company’s fleet to more than 40 aircraft under management. The 3,200-nm super-midsize Challenger 350 can seat 10 and fly at Mach 0.83.

In all, L.J. Aviation manages and operates five Challenger 300 series jets, along with a Challenger 604 and Global 5000. L.J. Aviation president Ed Kilkeary Jr. said the 350s deliver “everything we want in a business jet: outstanding performance, a comfortable and productive environment, and advantageous operating costs. The Challenger 350 is a sound investment that will make the most of our passengers’ time.”

For Bombardier, the deliveries of the aircraft continue to expand the Challenger 350 fleet, which this summer topped the 300th delivery—a milestone reached within the model’s first five years of service. Bombardier delivered 60 of the model in 2018.

“We are proud of our long-standing relationship with L.J. Aviation, and we are extremely pleased that they have added two Challenger 350s to their fleet,” said Bombardier Business Aircraft senior v-p of worldwide sales and marketing Peter Likoray.

Users Group Looks To Improve Safety at Teterboro

The Teterboro Users Group (TUG) is hosting two online meetings to gather feedback from pilots to improve flight safety around New Jersey's Teterboro Airport (TEB), the nation’s busiest general aviation airport. It is working with Mitre Corp. to identify areas in TEB’s approach paths it calls “airborne hotspots” where there is unsafe separation between aircraft flying to or from TEB and those departing from or traveling to other airports in the surrounding busy New York City airspace.

Set for August 26 and September 3, the meetings will focus on TEB hotspots and include data reviewed by Mitre such as altitude and location of each event, as well as resolution advisory (RA) type; relative direction and altitude of the intruder; whether the intruder was VFR or IFR; change in vertical course after the RA; crew response components in the cockpit; whether the aircraft entered class B after the event; separation at closest point of approach; and exemplar interactions.

The data comes from a study by the General Aviation Issues Analysis Team that over a three-year period looked at TCAS RA events at TEB, Seattle Boeing Field King County International Airport (BFI), and California's Van Nuys Airport (VNY). During that period at TEB, there were 101 flight operational quality assurance (FOQA) events, 900 surveillance events, and 223 safety reports.

Another Citation Overruns Runway, Catches Fire

For the second time in one week, passengers and crew evacuated safely from a Cessna Citation following a runway excursion and before fire consumed their aircraft. The latest accident occurred yesterday and involved a 2003 Citation Excel that overran the runway departing Oroville Municipal Airport (OVE) in California.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor told AIN that the twinjet was bound for Portland, Oregon, when the flight crew aborted takeoff shortly before noon PDT. Online flight tracking information shows the Excel, registered as N91GY, was being operated under Part 135 for Delta Private Jets.

The eight passengers and two crewmembers onboard were able to exit the aircraft before flames consumed the airframe. It also sparked a wildfire along the airport's northern boundary and briefly closed an adjacent highway. It is yet unknown what led the crew to abort the takeoff.

Shortly after the accident, a Notam was issued halting availability of jet-A at OVE until September 6. Photos from the scene showed the aircraft intact before catching fire, with the starboard thrust reverser partially deployed and a small notch missing from the upper portion of the vertical stabilizer.

On August 15, a Citation Latitude (C680A) overran the runway while landing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport near Bristol, Tennessee. Five persons onboard, including retired Nascar driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his wife and infant daughter, escaped without serious injuries.

Universal: Begin Planning for Summer 2020 Olympics Ops

While the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games and Paralympics are a year away, the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) has already released guidelines for non-scheduled flights and is beginning to accept slot applications for Chubu Centrair International Airport (RJGG/NGO) and Sendai Airport (RJSS/SDJ), Universal Weather & Aviation said. Universal further advised affected operators to begin planning now for the events as “tentative” slots are anticipated to begin issuance as early as September 30.

“We highly encourage you to make arrangements…as soon as your schedule is known so that you can secure your best options,” the company said, adding that based on inquiries Universal Aviation Japan has already seen, “early indicators show it will be another high-demand event.”

The JCAB guidance outlines slot coordination at the airports handling general aviation traffic during the 2020 Summer Games scheduled July 24 to August 9, 2020, and the August 25 to September 6, 2020, Paralympics.

Six airports will handle the slots—three Tokyo Metro airports (Narita International, Haneda International, and Ibaraki ) and three specially designated airports (New Chitose, Sendai, and Chubu Centrair International). The guidance specifies slot coordination periods and classification of who will be permitted at which airports during certain time frames. Parking will be limited to three hours at the Tokyo Metro airports.

Greenpoint Technologies Moves Into New Headquarters

VIP business jet completions company Greenpoint Technologies has moved its corporate headquarters to a new, 36,000-sq-ft facility in Parklands North Creek in Bothell, Washington, the Safran subsidiary announced today. The new headquarters houses its design, engineering, program management, operations, certification, and sales departments.

Notably, Greenpoint’s “expansive” design center in the new facility features a library of material and surface selections, design development gallery, portfolio wall, and interactive space for client presentations.  

“Greenpoint’s new flexible, open office space is specifically designed to enhance cross-department collaboration and innovation, ultimately leading to improved service for our customers through reduced program risk and schedule,” said Greenpoint executive v-p Bret Neely.

The company’s new corporate headquarters is less than 10 miles north of its previous facility in Kirkland, Washington. It also has VIP cabinetry and precision machining facilities in Denton, Texas; a commercial manufacturing facility in Marysville, Washington; and a modification facility in Moses Lake, Washington.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel 101

While sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a drop-in replacement for turbine engines, there is a lot more to this new fuel than meets the eye. Manufacturing and distributing SAF is just a technological hurdle, but getting the new fuel into widespread use is going to require a robust pull on the demand side. Aircraft operators need to know what SAF is, how it runs in turbine engines, how it benefits the environment, where it can be purchased, and how much it will cost. Join us on September 10 at 1:30 p.m. ET for this free one-hour webinar on SAF presented by Marcelo Goncalves of Embraer and Thomas Parsons of Air BP.