Former JSX chief operating officer Suresh Narayanan has launched a business jet and military aircraft maintenance outfit called Jets MRO, the startup said yesterday. Expected to start operations next month, Jets MRO will occupy a 40,000-sq-ft facility at Dallas Executive Airport (KRBD) leased from Jet Access, a charter and management company that is developing a private aviation complex at KRBD.

Jets MRO said it based its decision to operate at Dallas Executive on the "significant investment" that Jet Access has committed to development of the 80,000-sq-ft complex, including an FBO, office space, and MRO hangar capacity. Along with Jet Access, Jets MRO will become an anchor business on the airfield, which is the closest in the area to downtown Dallas. Meanwhile, the company will also support aircraft at Dallas Love Field and throughout the surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth service area.

Jets MRO promotes what it calls an "employees-first ethic," which is based on financial transparency, highly subsidized family benefits, and a focus on corporate culture.

“Although Jets MRO is an aviation maintenance business, it's about the people, too,” said the company. “Jets MRO will drive significant economic impact to the South Dallas community while creating many jobs in the region.”

Fractional HondaJet operator Volato inked an agreement this week with charter firm Fly Alliance that will provide its customers with access to larger-cabin jets.

The announced partnership comes before Volato begins taking deliveries of super-midsize Gulfstream G280s in the first quarter. Volato announced its Gulfstream order for a quartet of G280s last September and expects all will be delivered next year. Like Volato’s HondaJets, they will be available for fractional ownership.

“We are now taking deposits for fractional customers and ahead of the delivery we will be flying those G280 customers on Fly Alliance heavy jets,” Volato CEO and co-founder Matt Liotta told AIN. “To support our G280 fractional and jet card programs, we’ve entered into this agreement to also have access to a minimum [of] 10-passenger planes.”

Liotta noted that the company’s existing HondaJet customers will have access to the larger aircraft at a surcharge. “We are always seeking opportunities to enhance our capability to fulfill the varied requirements of our program customers,” he said, adding that access to Fly Alliance's fleet will allow his company to cater to larger group travel. “As part of our unwavering commitment to safety, we conducted a comprehensive safety audit of Fly Alliance's operations, which delivered excellent results.”

ExecuJet Haite Aviation Services China is opening a MRO facility at Beijing Daxing International Airport, the company said today. It will be jointly run with Capital Airport Holding Business Aviation Management (CBM).

Under the partnership agreement, ExecuJet Haite will operate a 5,000-sq-m (54,000-sq-ft) maintenance hangar to support multiple business aircraft types subject to the requirements of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). It will be equipped with back shops and offices.

The new MRO hangar will be situated within the airport’s business aviation area, which covers approximately 300,000 sq m. A substantial portion of this space is designated for FBO use, including an 11,000-sq-m terminal building, an area specifically designated for business jet parking, and five additional 5,000-sq-m hangars for covered parking.

As a division of the Capital Airport Holding Company, CBM delivers FBO services to both business aviation operators at Daxing International and Beijing Capital International airports. With ExecuJet Haite, CBM aims to make Beijing Daxing a primary business jet hub and an entry point to the Chinese market.

ExecuJet Haite, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sichuan-based Haite Group, offers line and base maintenance support at its Tianjin MRO for various business jets. It operates as a franchise of ExecuJet MRO Services and neither ExecuJet MRO Services nor its parent Dassault Aviation hold any stake in the company.

A delegate to the Navajo Nation indicated that the tribe would drop its objections to air tours over or near its lands in exchange for economic incentives. In testimony before the U.S. House natural resources oversight and investigations subcommittee yesterday, Carl Slater, a Navajo Nation Council delegate, enumerated a list of tribal, cultural, and environmental objections to air tourism, including disruption of wildlife, desecration of sacred sites, and interruption of native ceremonies. But he indicated that such objections could be dealt with given the proper incentives.

“If you want to win over tribal support for air tours in and around tribal lands, ensure tribes participate in the economic benefits,” Slater said. “Currently there is almost no economic benefit to the Navajo people from air tourism despite the hundreds of millions of dollars generated by this industry adjacent to the Navajo Nation.”

Slater suggested a potential basket of incentives air tour operators could offer, including hiring native guides, reserving a set percentage of flights for native-owned businesses, and paying a tribal overflight tax. He maintained, “The only way to proceed is to ensure tribes shape air tour management plans and reap an economic return from these tours.”

Slater’s suggestions drew the ire of subcommittee member Troy Nehls (R-Texas). “This is about money—bottom line,” he said.

The FAA has established a Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Rulemaking Committee (ARC) tasked with providing recommendations on breaking down “any remaining barriers” to discourage pilots and air traffic controllers from seeking mental health care. ARC participants will be announced shortly, the agency said, but the rulemaking will have a tight timeline, with recommendations due by the end of March.

Yesterday’s announcement of the ARC came a day before the NTSB's aviation safety summit on “Navigating Mental Health in Aviation.” The FAA said the committee’s work is intended to build on its previous work to prioritize pilot mental health.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy opened the summit this morning by expressing concern that the current rules are a disincentive for pilots and controllers to seek help. Homendy added that people who do seek help can face a “frustrating maze of the federal bureaucracy to get back to work. It’s an unacceptably long wait.”

Penny Giovanetti, director of the medical specialties division for the FAA—who also participated in the NTSB forum—stressed that the agency hopes to dispel myths about seeking help. But she also pointed to the “elephant in the room,” which is the lengthy time it takes for special issuance aviation medicals, and noted that case backlog has significantly jumped since the pandemic. The FAA is adding staffing but needs to do more, she conceded.

Los Angeles-area service provider Sun Air Jets has completed Gulfstream’s FBO ground handling and servicing training program. Developed by the Savannah airframer in conjunction with FlightSafety International, the specialty training was designed “to improve dispatch reliability and increase safety for Gulfstream aircraft and the people who support them.”

The program goes in-depth on Gulfstream’s full product lineup, with a study module dedicated to each specific model. Topics include aircraft dimensions, empty weights, fuel capacities, and flight ranges, along with model-specific controls for fuel, water, and lavatory service. In addition, it covers towing procedures for each model.

With several Gulfstreams in its fleet—ranging from the super-midsize G200 to the large-cabin G500—the Camarillo Airport-based company believes participating in continuing education programs such as this ensures it can offer the best service to its clients.

“Sun Air Jets is proud to have achieved 100 percent completion of Gulfstream’s FBO ground handling and servicing training for all line service technicians,” said James Evans, the company’s director of safety and FBO operations. “Safety awareness in all facets of servicing our customer’s aircraft has always been our top priority, and Gulfstream’s training has been a great resource to help further our focus on aircraft-specific processes.”

Boost Systems has received a Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) supplemental type certificate for its quick-release cargo basket on Airbus Helicopters H125 and AS350/355 models. This adds to Boost's line of certified human external cargo systems, personal carrying device systems, and related training services, the Vancouver, Canada-based company said.

FAA certification remains pending. “With a cargo capacity of 500 pounds, the Boost basket offers the largest cargo capacity of all H125/AS350/355 baskets available on the market today,” explained company vice president of operations Jeff Yarnold.

The basket’s quick-release mechanism allows for installation and removal—on either side of the aircraft—without tools. Made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel with powder coating, the baskets come in white or black, as well as custom colors. Boost Systems also offers an optional boarding step to facilitate aircraft egress.

Allowing for a load capacity of 500 pounds, each 16.1-cu-ft basket weighs 87 pounds. Initial installation of the basket and mounting posts takes about an hour.

Flyvbird (Flyv) plans to offer on-demand air taxi services at Twente Airport in the Netherlands. The German regional airline startup and Dutch airport have agreed to develop plans to connect Twente to other small airports in Europe using Flyv’s fleet of low-cost and reduced-emissions aircraft, including future electric and hybrid models.

In a memorandum of understanding, the partners also agreed to collaborate on standards and procedures for ground operations undervFlyv’s on-demand air taxi network, which is expected to begin transporting passengers between European cities in 2025.vFlyv’s initial fleet will consist of four Tecnam P2012 Travellers. The airline also intends to operate the Electra.aero hybrid-electric STOL aircraft and all-electric Eviation Alice, which are expected to enter service by 2028.

“Twente Airport management is enthusiastic about next-gen commuter-liner, electric, and eVTOL programs, but just as important as the OEMs designing and building them are the pioneering operators which are committing to fly them,” said Gerben Groothuis, Twente Airport’s eFlight business development manager.

“It is also smart to start setting up this on-demand service with existing smaller fossil-powered aircraft to start with, while electric aircraft are being developed,” Groothuis added. “We’ll be able to practice at Twente Airport with existing aircraft to try out the service, so that in a few years the switch to next-gen clean aircraft can be made smoothly.”