Kopter Group has begun plans to build a new 66,000-sq-ft pre-assembly building at its Mollis, Switzerland headquarters, it announced today. Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter, and the facility is expected to become fully operational in 2021.
The new building will house production of dynamic components such as rotor blades, gearboxes, and rotor heads, as well as testing rigs and a central warehouse. Kopter’s existing 13,800-sq-ft facility will be used for final assembly of the SH09 light turbine-powered helicopter and administrative offices.
The combined new facility at Mollis will be the company-wide center for production, assembly, flight-testing, training, and maintenance for its Honeywell HTS900-powered SH09 light-single. Kopter expects to ramp helicopter production up to 50 units annually at Mollis within the next five years and fabricate an additional 150 subassemblies for final assembly at facilities planned for the U.S. and Asia.
According to Kopter, projected growth is expected to boost employment at Mollis from the current 100 to 400 within five years. Kopter Group CEO Andreas Löwenstein said the new facility “will allow us to work in the best conditions and to serve our customers worldwide."
Bristow Drops Columbia Deal, Hints At Bankruptcy
Bristow Group abruptly canceled a scheduled analyst conference call yesterday afternoon, formally ended its attempt to acquire Columbia Helicopters for $560 million, filed notification of late filing of latest quarterly and nine-month financial results with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and admitted “material weakness” in internal controls over financial reporting dating back at least two years.
In a statement, Bristow said it “is evaluating whether this material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting resulted in a misstatement in the company's financial statements.” Further, the company warned that some of its debt might need to be reclassified from long-term to short-term, which could affect its “ability to continue as a going concern.”
The helicopter services company did release “preliminary” financial results that indicated it lost at least $262.2 million for the nine months ending Dec. 31, 2018, and $85.94 million in the fourth quarter. It sustained losses of $94.78 million and $8.274 million, respectively, in the same year-ago periods.
According to Bristow chairman Thomas Knudson, “A number of developments following the entry into the agreement…led both Bristow and Columbia to conclude that it was not possible to combine the two companies.” Bristow, which has paid Columbia a $20 million termination fee, announced its intention to acquire Columbia in November but revealed a month later that it was having difficulty closing the deal.
Compensation is now the top motivating factor, surpassing quality-of-life issues, among pilots who have left the business aviation industry for airline slots, according to a recent workforce study by NBAA. In a survey sent to flight departments, 63 percent of the respondents reported that they had experienced pilot turnover since 2015. Of those, 43 percent indicated that the pilots left business aviation for the airlines, while nearly 50 percent left for another business aviation position.
“Many people I’ve spoken to don’t think they have an airline problem because other business aircraft operators are taking their pilots,” explained Chris Broyhill, a member of NBAA’s Business Aviation Management Committee, which conducted the study. “But the reason the other operators are poaching their pilots is because the other operators have lost people to the airlines. The fact is that it is an airline problem.”
On the other hand, maintenance technicians saw less churn, with only one-third of the respondents indicating turnover in that area since 2015. Of those, 33 percent moved to other Part 91 operators, 14 percent to charter operators, and the same amount to aircraft management companies.
In both cases, the pool of qualified candidates is dwindling. A job posting that would have attracted more than 1,000 applicants in the past recently drew only 200, of which one quarter met the published requirements.
Toronto Pearson To Launch Departure Reservation Program
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and Nav Canada are rolling out a reservation program for airline and general aviation departures at Toronto Pearson International Airport (CYYZ) as authorities try to make traffic flow there more predictable and efficient. Trials of the new airport collaborative decision making (A-CDM) procedures are set to begin on February 18, with a target of full rollout on April 23.
Business and general aviation operators must obtain departure reservations at least 60 minutes and up to 72 hours before the planned operations. However, based operators can book up to 30 days in advance. The program outlines a series of procedures to notify of the planned departure, including a requirement that the operator provide a target off-block time. The A-CDM system will generate a target setup approval time that will sequence when aircraft can expect to receive startup approval.
The Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA) expressed disappointment with the rollout and is continuing to push for adjustments to streamline the procedures and better align requirements for business aviation operations. Collaborating with a coalition of operators and FBOs, CBAA has worked to push back on more onerous elements of the program and have been able to secure some changes, including ensuring no limits or caps on reservations and providing longer-term advance booking for based operators.
Dubai’s Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) claims to be the global leader in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) oversight. Its registry of commercial, government, and hobbyist drone users is approaching the 5,000 mark, DCAA head of airspace safety Michael Rudolph said late last week at the Middle East Aviation Conference in Dubai.
“We have come a long way in a very short period of time,” Rudolph told attendees. “We came up with a protocol…to register every single drone operator in the Emirate of Dubai. To date, since roll-out in early 2017, we have now registered almost 5,000 [drone users]; we are looking at 4,760 operators.”
The DCAA’s mandatory remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) registration service costs $142 for commercial and government users, and $33 for professionals, hobbyists, and freelancers. Tracking devices are mandatory on commercial and government drones, while individual owners’ UAVs are monitored using satellite-based mobile telemetry.
“I can say that we are a world leader as [far as] the oversight of this technology is concerned, recognized by the rest of the world,” Rudolph told AIN at the conference. “We've had interactions with the FAA, Eurocontrol, and even, most recently, Canada has looked to access the protocols we have put in place [to prevent] airspace from being compromised. Without a doubt, Dubai is definitely a leader.”
New Honeywell Agreement Broadens Satair’s Bizav Reach
Airbus aftermarket subsidiary Satair has signed an agreement to distribute Honeywell’s JetWave in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity system for business jets to dealers and MROs in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and India, the company announced today at MRO Middle East 2019. This adds to other Honeywell products that Satair distributes, such as ADS-B Out upgrades for business aircraft equipped with Honeywell Primus, as well as several Honeywell sensing product lines.
“We are very pleased to further expand our relationship with Satair, and our history of collaboration especially on the Primus and ADS-B mandate program has demonstrated that Satair is a proactive and like-minded partner when bringing our products to market,” said Raghed Talih, director of Honeywell’s aftermarket services for Africa, India, the Middle East, and Turkey.
Satair said it has invested in a large pool of full JetWave shipsets and will hold an inventory of all JetWave components that enables it to offer immediate delivery to dealers and MROs. JetWave delivers its high-speed internet service to aircraft through the Inmarsat satellite network.
Western Jet Turns 20, Expands Gulfstream Mx Services
Business aviation services company Western Jet Aviation, which is marking its 20th anniversary, has expanded its existing full-service Gulfstream maintenance capabilities at California’s Van Nuys Airport to include the ultra-long-range G650. “What better way to commemorate two decades of providing operators with alternative options than by providing them with even more?” asked Western Jet founder and general manager Jim Hansen.
In the two decades since the company was started, “Western Jet has continued to grow while remaining true to its grass roots business model,” he said. “The expansion into full service avionics in 2009 was a pivotal and timely investment, broadening support to not only our Gulfstream customer base but to most other major business jet platforms as well.”
Authorized dealerships, specialty paint and interior shops, APU support, a sizeable parts inventory, and tenant office space round out Western Jet’s offerings, according to Hansen. “Western Jet owes its ongoing success to our dedicated employees and loyal customers,” he added. “When I first opened the doors, I had one employee who is still with me today and now, after two decades, our team of professionals is still focused on offering quality, value, and the best possible customer experience.”
MemberJets Launches Per-seat Charter Flight Platform
MemberJets said its platform that enables charter brokers and aircraft operators to sell per-seat charter flights already meets the new DOT Part 295 charter broker rules that take effect on Thursday.
The company’s Aviation Marketplace allows brokers and operators to “actively engage in the sale and management of individual seats, publish routes, and provide transparent pricing,” it said. Under this arrangement, MemberJets, as a DOT Part 380 indirect air carrier, acts as the principal in buying and reselling air transportation.
"The new [DOT Part 295] regulation took years for the DOT to craft and while it provides more transparency for consumers, it requires that brokers quickly navigate uncharted territory,” said MemberJets founder and CEO Ty Carter. “We built this marketplace to add value to our broker partners by providing free regulatory compliance and software that allows for an entirely new ecosystem. We recognize as important as Part 295 is for the consumer, it is also disruptive to our partners' business, so we introduced a turn-key solution."
Count on AIN for Full Coverage of Heli-Expo
As ever, you can count on AIN for full coverage of the 2019 Heli-Expo Convention. Our team will publish three of our award-winning daily HAI Convention News editions at the show on March 5, 6, and 7. We will also have comprehensive real-time reporting of all the top news at AINonline.com and in our daily e-newsletters. If you are an exhibiting company that wants to share news or propose pre-show interviews and briefings please contact show editor Kerry Lynch.
People in Aviation
FlightSafety International promoted Edward Koharik to vice president, jointly leading a company-wide transformation team. A 23-year U.S. Air Force veteran, Koharik joined FlightSafety in 2015 and most recently was general manager of FlightSafety Visual Systems. Stepping in as general manager of visual systems for the global training company is Jim Wheeler. Most recently director of military and commercial programs, Wheeler joined FlightSafety in 1993 and has held progressively responsible roles in engineering, quality, operations, and program management, along with supporting FlightSafety VITAL visual system products.
Metro Aviation has appointed Stewart Corbin customer communication center training manager. Corbin, who helped create Metro’s CommLab at the Helicopter Flight Training Center, previously had a 23-year career with MedComm, most recently as vice president of dispatching services.
Raphaël Fabian joined the General Aircraft Manufacturers Association as director of European affairs. Fabian was most recently with Rolls-Royce’s European affairs team in Brussels.
Ahead of the planned summer opening of its new FBO at Dallas Love Field (DAL), Tac Air named company veteran Kip Simanek general manager at DAL. Simanek most recently headed up Tac Air’s Little Rock, Arkansas facility.
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) named Hugo Reyes senior underwriter of general aviation for North America. Reyes joins Allianz with nearly two decades of experience, including serving as assistant vice president at U.S. Aviation Insurance Group (USAIG) and vice president at Swiss Re.
Jill Case has joined Wing Aviation as the national director of sales. Case, who has more than 15 years of private aviation industry experience, previously was vice president of business development for Gama Aviation Signature.
Castle & Cooke Aviation named Dean Williams general manager at its Everett, Washington (KPAE) FBO location. Williams joins Castle & Cooke with more than 20 years of airline and airport management and operations experience, formally serving as director of fuel administration and corporate manager of fuel operations and infrastructure with a major airline.
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