Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the U.S. District Court of Delaware’s decision to deny a motion by SmartSky Networks for a preliminary injunction to prevent Gogo Business Aviation from selling Gogo 5G air-to-ground connectivity.

According to Gogo, “The Delaware court found that SmartSky failed to establish that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims [or] suffer irreparable harm if a preliminary injunction is not granted. The reviewing court—the federal circuit—affirmed that decision.”

SmartSky holds that its patent infringement claims remain valid. “The appellate decision was based solely on the issue of irreparable harm and did not address any of SmartSky’s patent infringement claims at this preliminary stage of the case.”

Gogo 5G, according to SmartSky, “is substantially similar to SmartSky’s air-to-ground network. Gogo’s actions are a clear, obvious, and willful infringement, even if the Gogo 5G network is still inactive as noted by the court of appeals.”

“The district court found that SmartSky failed to establish that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims, and we agree,” said Gogo CEO Oakleigh Thorne. “We will continue to vigorously defend Gogo against SmartSky’s patent infringement claims. We remain steadfast in our belief that we do not infringe upon the patents in question and expect to ultimately prevail.”

The move to restore 100 percent depreciation took a step forward with the U.S. House's approval of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 yesterday. While not unanimous, the House approved the bill, H.R.7024, by a 357-to-70 vote in a rare show of bipartisanship, particularly for a tax measure.

H.R.7024 now heads to the Senate, where its path forward is less clear—even with a strong endorsement by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon).

“Most prognosticators would have told you as recently as a month ago that this bill was destined to die in negotiations or collect dust on a shelf if it ever got introduced. Given the sorry state of our political climate, it’s a real victory to have such strong momentum behind this bill,” said Wyden, who crafted the compromise tax package with his Republican House counterpart, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Missouri).

The bill has gotten wide attention for measures covering child and low-income housing tax credits. A range of business-oriented measures for aviation includes an extension for 100 percent depreciation for most qualified business property placed into service before Jan. 1, 2026. However, the provision extends that further, to before Jan. 1, 2027, “for longer-production period property and certain aircraft.” The measure would continue 20 percent bonus depreciation for two more years after that.

As it looks to rekindle growth in 2024, business aircraft management and charter operator Luxaviation UK is adding three jets to its fleet. The first of these, an Embraer Praetor 600, was formally unveiled at its new London Biggin Hill Airport base this week, and two more are due to arrive before the end of next month.

According to Luxaviation UK CEO George Galanopoulos, demand in 2023 was softer than in the Covid-bounceback year that preceded it. While hoping the market would stabilize, he acknowledged potentially destabilizing factors such as two major military conflicts, rising interest rates, and inflation. “In some cases, new [charter] customers started going back to the airlines, which have been getting their act together again after the pandemic,” he commented during the event at Biggin Hill on Wednesday attended by 150 industry representatives.

The Luxaviation group holds air operator certificates (AOCs) in 15 countries with a combined fleet of more than 260 jets and helicopters. Apart from the UK arm, Galanopoulos told AIN that the AOCs in Dubai and San Marino are also seeing new owners look to put their aircraft under management.

In recent years, Galanopoulos and his London-based team have found management and charter clients to be increasingly mindful of the environmental impact of their travel arrangements.

Rotor Technologies’ R220Y prototype uncrewed helicopter made its first public live flight yesterday at New Hampshire's Nashua Airport in front of about 100 people. The R220Y is a modified Robinson R22 helicopter equipped with autonomous flight controls and connected to Rotor’s Cloudpilot “on-demand piloting service that delivers flight capabilities via satellite and wireless connectivity,” according to the company.

During the live flight, the R220Y’s autonomous operation included engine start, hovering, turning, and landing during a three-minute flight. 

Rotor is developing the R550X based on a Robinson R44 Raven II, which was on display during the event. During the demonstration, Rotor CEO Hector Xu announced the name of that helicopter and opened a bottle of champagne to toast the Spirit of New Hampshire with the state’s governor, Chris Sununu. 

“New Hampshire has long been known for our innovative spirit,” Sununu said, “and today, a new era of aviation was ushered in right here in the Granite State. This is an exciting moment for the future of American-made aircraft.”

Without a pilot onboard, the 550X will be able to deliver a payload of 1,212 pounds at up to 150 mph and fly for more than three hours. “The R550X offers long-range VTOL capabilities beyond the reach of drones and eVTOLs,” the company said. Plans call for the helicopter to start agricultural flights later this year.

NBAA’s safety committee has released its 2024 Top Safety Focus Areas, with an emphasis on reducing operational risk. The safety committee updates the list every two years after bringing together 80 experts from across the industry to review where the top focus areas should be for business aviation.

A culmination of that review, the 2024 Top Safety Focus Areas are spread among three categories: preventable accidents, unique operational concerns, and mitigation strategies.

Preventable accidents cover loss of control in flight, runway safety, controlled flight into terrain, and ground operations and maintenance accidents. These focus areas were driven by the latest accident data, Dan Boedigheimer, committee vice chair and CEO of Advanced Aircrew Academy, said in an NBAA article on the latest safety priorities. He noted that loss of control inflight remains the top cause of fatal accidents.

As for unique operational concerns, the focus areas cover single-pilot operations, human factors, fitness for duty, and workforce challenges. Meanwhile, mitigation strategies include safety management system implementation, organization support of safety expenditures, and use and sharing of data.