Delta Private Jets To Combine with Wheels Up

Delta Air Lines announced today it will acquire a stake in, and combine its Delta Private Jets charter-management arm with, private aviation provider Wheels Up. After expected closure early next year, the companies said, the transaction will create one of the industry’s largest owned and managed fleets of private aircraft. Delta Private Jets has a fleet of more than 70 managed business aircraft, while Wheels Up has an owned fleet of more than 115 Textron Aviation turboprop twins and jets. Terms of the deal were not disclosed and Delta declined AIN’s request for further information, noting more details will be announced when the transaction closes.

“This groundbreaking partnership will democratize private aviation, making the convenience of private jet travel accessible to more consumers,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “Wheels Up’s lifestyle experiences and innovative digital platform, combined with the scale and service of Delta Private Jets, helps further Delta’s mission of connecting people and communities worldwide through travel.”

Wheels Up founder and CEO Kenny Dichter will continue leading the Wheels Up management team as the partnership grows between the two companies.

“Bringing together our complementary businesses, which represent the best consumer brands in private and commercial aviation, is transformative and a first for the industry,” Dichter said.

Gulfstream Opens New MRO at Van Nuys Airport

Gulfstream Aerospace officially opened its second company-owned maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility in Southern California yesterday. The new service center at Van Nuys Airport (VNY) offers sizeable ramp space and access to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the Savannah, Georgia-based airframer said.

“Southern California, especially Los Angeles County, is a prime location for Gulfstream business jets, and with maintenance facilities in both Van Nuys and Long Beach, we have the resources to assist customers based in and transitioning through the area faster and more efficiently,” said Gulfstream customer support president Derek Zimmerman. “This expansion ensures our new aircraft, the Gulfstream G500 and G600, and the rest of our growing fleet continue to have the best service and support in business aviation.”

Encompassing 66,000 sq ft (6,132 sq m), the VNY facility includes 43,000 sq ft (3,995 sq m) of hangar space that can simultaneously accommodate four G650/650ERs. It also has easy access to Gulfstream’s West Coast distribution center that carries nearly $30 million in parts and materials and serves as a local operating base for the company’s field and airborne support team (FAST). 

VNY also is near World Energy’s SAF refinery. More than 130 Gulfstreams are based at VNY and more than 220 are based in all of Southern California, according to Gulfstream Aerospace.

Aerion Adds GKN, Aernnova to AS2 Supply, Design Base

Aerion Supersonics’s AS2 supersonic business jet is beginning to take shape as the Reno, Nevada–based aircraft designer continues to select major supply and design partners. This includes announcements yesterday that GKN will provide the empennage and electrical wiring and interconnection systems (EWIS) and Aernnova will develop the mid-fuselage.

GKN already has begun design work in collaboration with Aerion both at GKN’s engineering centers in the Netherlands and Romania, as well as at Aerion’s Reno facility.

"Aligning with industry-leading partners is key to making sustainable supersonic travel a reality,” said Aerion CEO Tom Vice. “GKN Aerospace brings more than 100 years of aerospace development and extraordinary aerostructures expertise, including thermoplastic composites and electrical wiring systems, to our AS2 supersonic business aircraft."

Vice further praised Aernnova’s proven track in design in the manufacture of complex aerostructures in its selection for the mid-fuselage section that will be capable of supporting supersonic flight. Like GKN, Aernnova is a Tier 1 supplier for numerous aircraft programs, providing wings, empennages, and fuselage sections, among other key components.

They join Boeing, GE Aviation, Spirit Aerosystems, and Honeywell on the AS2 program. GE is developing the jet's Affinity engine, Spirit is working on the preliminary design of the forward fuselage, and Honeywell is developing the flight deck. First flight of the Mach 1.4 AS2 is anticipated in 2024.

NBAA Appeals FAA SMO Ruling, Calls for More Actions

While the FAA last month agreed with industry contentions that the California city of Santa Monica violated grant assurance agreements, NBAA is appealing the FAA determination, saying it did not fully address issues raised. NBAA, AOPA, and local tenants filed a Part 16 complaint alleging that the city was diverting revenues by charging principal and interest on loans to the airport without valid documentation. On November 8, the FAA found that the city had not adequately documented interest-bearing loans made to the airport and its landing fees and rates do not reflect actual use of the airport.

“This is a complex Part 16,” said NBAA director of airports and ground infrastructure Alex Gertsen. “Although the FAA did find that a significant number of loans between the city and the airport are invalid and/or charged excessive interest, further rulings by FAA are required.”

NBAA asserts the city engaged in revenue diversion beyond the FAA’s finding and believes the agency should require reimbursement. Gertsen added that the FAA should have ordered other immediate compliance measures, including a suspension of landing fees. “Corrective action on these issues must be taken by the FAA, not just to rectify the incorrect and possibly illegal actions at SMO, but also to maintain a consistent national policy that airport finances must be properly documented, and landing fees thoroughly justified,” he concluded.

Bizav Flight Activity Remains Down in Europe

The decline in business aviation flight activity in Europe accelerated in November as departures dipped 3.2 percent year-over-year, according to WingX`s latest monthly Business Aviation Monitor. Year-to-date, Wing X reported flight activity has been down overall 1.8 percent in Europe, representing 15,000 fewer flights.

Total flights in November lagged the same month in the peak year of 2008 by 12 percent, added Richard Koe, managing director of WingX. “Long-term trends in all business jet segments are heading south following the relatively brief rally in 2017 to 2018.” Koe pointed to owner flights as leading the downward trend in November, with 8 percent fewer year-over-year. “Particularly on the older platform aircraft, in the lighter and entry-level category, owners are flying much less. The sensitivity of business jets to the climate agenda may well exaggerate this trend next year.”

The UK and Germany, in particular, saw a drop in overall business aircraft activity, with departures down 6 percent year-over-year and 5 percent year-to-date. The small and midsize segments were most affected in those countries, as well as in France, WingX stated. Meanwhile, owner flights plummeted by more than 20 percent in Switzerland.

WingX, however, did see some increase in November in Russia, Italy, Turkey, and Spain. Large-cabin jet activity was up 6 percent in Spain and by 3 percent in Switzerland.

eVTOL Developer EHang Sets IPO Price

Autonomous electric aircraft developer EHang Holdings is looking to raise $46 million from an initial public offering (IPO) due to begin trading today on the Nasdaq Global Market. The target is less than half the $100 million projected when the company filed its IPO declaration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 31.

EHang, trading under the symbol EH, is offering 3.2 million American Depository Shares (ADSs) at $12.50 per share, which is at the lower end of the $12.50 to $14.50 anticipated in SEC filings made earlier this week. Underwriters also have a 30-day option to purchase a further 480,000 ADSs at the offer price.

According to a Nasdaq statement, existing investors are expected to pay a further $7 million for further shares through the IPO, which is due to close on December 16. At the IPO offer price, EHang has a fully diluted market capitalization of $687 million.

Last week, EHang announced a partnership with Heli Chuangxin Real Estate Co. Ltd to jointly develop infrastructure to support urban air mobility operations in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. As part of a pilot program approved by Chinese authorities, the partners have identified sight-seeing flights as one of the early commercial applications for the two-seat EHang 216 autonomous aerial vehicle.

Ohio Airport Takes Over FBO Operations

The city of Middletown, Ohio, is taking over management of the lone FBO at Middletown Regional Airport/Hook Field (MWO) on January 1. Earlier this year, the city notified 10-year incumbent operator Start Aviation, which also runs a skydiving business at the airport, that it would not be renewing its ground-handling contract. The city will begin its FBO operations from a temporary trailer, while Start’s skydiving operation will continue to occupy the 8,000-sq-ft terminal—which includes a pilot lounge, snooze room, and showers—until the two sides agree where on the airport Start will relocate.

According to John Hart, Start Aviation’s owner, the facility pumps approximately 100,000 gallons of jet-A a year, a large portion of that to fuel his company’s three skydiver-hauling turboprops. This week the city approved a $150,000 measure to install a self-service fueling system at the FBO, along with funding the trailer rental for the first half of the year.

MWO—which has the longest runway (6,100 feet) of any non-towered general aviation airport in the state—sees approximately 40,000 operations a year. It features a 24,000-sq-ft maintenance hangar and 39,000 sq ft of community hangar space.

ACA: Change Coming To Use of Compassion Call Sign

Changes to ICAO and FAA call sign requirements are prompting a new procedure for pilots using the compassion call sign and CMF identifier on public benefit flights, the Air Care Alliance (ACA) announced this week. Effective December 15, the new procedure requires pilots of authorized volunteer pilot groups using the call sign to register for a discrete compassion call sign through the ACA website instead of the previous filing procedure using a portion of the pilot’s aircraft registration number.

“ACA has worked with the FAA on behalf of volunteer pilot organizations to develop a process that meets the new requirements and allows the pilots to continue using the 'compassion' call sign,” said ACA chairman and founder Rol Murrow. Pilots should become familiar with the new procedures for use and take measures to avoid call sign mismatch, according to ACA. After January 1, a pilot-programmable ADS-B Out transponder will be required for use of the call sign in designated airspace.

Use of the compassion call sign allows volunteer pilots to identify to ATC that they are bona fide public benefit flights, providing a measure of safety and security for passengers with special needs that might result in better routing and special handling for the pilot.