In an update provided in an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 22, Honeywell revealed the possible nearly $500 million financial impact of the March 1, 2023, lawsuit filed by Flexjet. The complaint alleged, according to Honeywell, “breach of the parties’ aircraft engine maintenance service agreement (the MSA), seeking liquidated damages for delayed engine repairs, and claiming that its liquidated damages continue to accrue monthly related to engines awaiting repair.”

In the 8-K filing, Honeywell said it “expects to record a one-time charge within its Aerospace Technologies segment in the fourth quarter of 2025 that will reduce GAAP sales (due to contra-revenue accounting) and operating income by approximately $310 million and $370 million, respectively. The Company further expects that any comprehensive settlements will include one-time cash payments to the parties to the Flexjet-related litigation matters totaling approximately $470 million in the aggregate.”

In a statement provided to AIN, Flexjet explained: “Honeywell’s $470 million disclosure is an accounting recognition, not the result of a finalized agreement to have a value to Flexjet of in excess of $1 billion. While discussions remain ongoing, we are encouraged by Honeywell’s public acknowledgment of the significance of this matter. Our continued focus is on achieving a resolution that strengthens accountability and reinforces the importance of service reliability for the aviation industry at large.”

The business aviation sector is finishing out one of its strongest years in decades as new deliveries and backlogs flourish, flight hours show no sign of easing, and the preowned market remains solid and rationalized. And importantly, the industry has weathered through the turmoil that threatened to chill the market in the first quarter in the face of tariffs.

In October, aviation data and safety specialist Argus reported that business aviation flight activity had soared 5.3% year over year (YOY), making it the second-highest month since January 2007, when Argus began tracking business aircraft utilization. That month also marked the sixth positive month in a row in Europe, up 3.1%.

Demand has been strong across the board, according to Argus senior v-p, software Travis Kuhn. Fractional operations have driven the robust flight activity, but Part 135 activity has strengthened with Part 91 edging up. “October did not disappoint from a flight activity standpoint,” Kuhn said. But October was not an anomaly. Just a few months earlier, data specialist WingX noted that global business jet activity marked the busiest August in nearly two decades.

Flight hour strength bodes well for new and preowned transactions as fleets turn over and owners look to upgrade. Business jet deliveries have been up as supply chain constraints have allowed, but moreover, the major OEMs were seeing two-year backlogs throughout their product lines.

A Hawker 900XP crashed in Utah on Feb. 7, 2024, after the flight crew conducted a post-maintenance stall test in icing conditions, resulting in wing contamination, degraded aerodynamic performance, and a loss of control, according to the NTSB’s final report. The accident killed both crew members.

The Hawker departed on a Part 91 positioning flight from Grand Junction Regional Airport (KGJT), Colorado, after the airplane underwent routine maintenance, including removal and reinstallation of the wing leading edges and de-icing panels. While climbing to 20,000 feet msl, the crew initiated a planned stall warning and identification system check. Flight data showed the airplane slowed and pitched up before entering a stall at essentially the same moment the stick shaker activated.

The NTSB found that the degraded stall warning sequence was likely caused by wing contamination from icing or recent maintenance, noting that even brief icing exposure could reduce lift and critical angle of attack substantially. The investigation determined the airplane entered a flat spin and descended rapidly, with no evidence of mechanical anomalies in the engines or flight controls.

Investigators also cited deficiencies in pilot preparation and manufacturer guidance. Although the pilots had received simulator training on stall avoidance systems, the NTSB found they were not adequately trained to conduct full stall tests or respond to unacceptable stall characteristics. The manufacturer’s guidance did not clearly define experience or training requirements for stall tests.

The 2026 Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) show in Hamburg, Germany, will have a new twist with the introduction of an area dedicated to business jet interiors. AIX—which will celebrate its 25th anniversary—will be held at the Hamburg Messe from April 14 to 16 in conjunction with the World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo.

Called the Bizjet Interiors Zone, the new area will be located in Hall B1, a high-traffic area in the heart of the event. It will be dedicated to the business aviation and eVTOL markets, the former of which is projected to grow from $48 billion this year to nearly $68 billion by 2032. Reflecting that potential, this year’s show featured 92 exhibitors specializing in business jet interiors, an increase of 53% over the 2024 edition.

According to show organizers, the new area will provide space for industry buyers, including operators, completion and refurbishment providers, and OEMs to view the latest technology and craftsmanship, as well as the finest materials, finishes, and design solutions.

It will be part of a larger business aviation presence on the show floor, which will also feature a dedicated designer runway for leading firms to present business jet-focused interior concepts.

In early 2025, aviation safety discussions centered on data, staffing, and technology. By the end of the first quarter, the conversation was about gaps—procedural, technological, or simply bureaucratic—that had allowed high-risk mixed traffic to continue in the nation’s capital region, and what it would take to close those gaps quickly.

Two fatal events, a little more than 48 hours apart, set the tone. On January 29, a U.S. Army rotorcraft operating without ADS-B Out during a routine check ride collided over the Potomac River with a PSA Airlines CRJ700 regional flight near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA), killing all occupants on both aircraft. On January 31, Med Jets Flight 056, a Learjet 55 operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, crashed shortly after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, killing everyone on board and two people on the ground, and injuring many others.

Aviation organizations said the industry was “united in its grief” and pledged “to ensure accidents like these never happen again,” while pressing Congress to fully fund the FAA and NTSB to do that work. Stakeholders added that controllers have been “working short-staffed, often six days a week, 10 hours a day for years at a time, with outdated equipment and facilities.”

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy made clear in March that the KDCA midair was not a one-off but the sharpest expression of a known problem.

Lufthansa Technik has introduced a dedicated upgrade program for the ACJ318 Elite Airbus corporate jet, offering a range of cabin and technical enhancements to modernize the smallest members of Airbus’ A320 family. The company’s VIP Center of Excellence in Hamburg will certify and deliver the modifications, which include both cosmetic and system-level refurbishments.

The new upgrade options include refreshed veneers, carpets, and upholstery, as well as replacements of the in-flight entertainment architecture. High-definition screens, upgraded speakers, and a modernized cabin management system are available, while connectivity can be enhanced through a low-earth-orbit satcom solution by Airbus Corporate Jets. The LEO ACJ Connect Link system leverages Gogo Galileo’s full duplex terminal to deliver onboard internet performance.

ACJ president Chadi Saade said the partnership ensures customers benefit from “the most advanced connectivity options,” while Lufthansa Technik v-p Fabian Nagel pointed to a need to address both technological obsolescence and wear accumulated over more than a decade of service.

Originally outfitted by Lufthansa Technik between 2007 and 2015, the ACJ318 Elite features an airliner-width fuselage with separate dining, lounge, and office zones, along with a private bath and bedroom. Although the 19-passenger layout was largely standardized, the manufacturer noted that expectations for materials, interior styling, and onboard connectivity have evolved significantly.

After Darrin Smedsmo experienced a total engine failure in his 1946 Stinson 108 while flying over the Red Lake Nation reservation in Minnesota on October 15, the tribe confiscated the airplane. The tribe claims that Smedsmo wasn’t allowed to fly over the reservation, based on a 1978 tribal resolution claiming that no aircraft are allowed to fly over tribal land below 20,000 feet.

While he is waiting to see if the tribe will return his airplane, Smedsmo has launched a non-profit organization to fund a lawsuit against the chairman of the Red Lake Nation to clarify and set a precedent acknowledging that the federal government has jurisdiction over all U.S. airspace. “My lawyer also wants to approach this legislatively, with ‘Darrin’s law,’ stating that if we have an emergency landing in a reservation, we get to keep our airplane,” he told AIN.

The status of the airspace over tribal lands should not be in dispute, but there has been no action against the Red Lake Nation’s 1978 resolution. According to 49 U.S. Code § 40103 - “Sovereignty and use of airspace: (a) Sovereignty and Public Right of Transit.—(1) The United States Government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States. (2) A citizen of the United States has a public right of transit through the navigable airspace.”

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