Bombardier Bizjet Deliveries Set To Climb in 2019

Bombardier delivered 137 business jets last year, down one from 2017, and expects to hand over 150 to 155 this year as it ramps up production of its flagship Global 7500, the company said today in a quarterly investor conference call. Last year’s shipments included 12 Learjet 70/75s, 60 Challenger 350s, 23 Challenger 650s, 41 Global 5000/6000s, and one Global 7500, compared with 14 Learjets, 79 Challengers (fifty-six 350s, twenty-one 650s, and two 850s), and 45 Global 5000/6000s in 2017.

Thanks to firmer aircraft pricing and a 14.3 percent increase in aftermarket sales, revenues at Bombardier Business Aircraft climbed $61 million last year, to $4.994 billion, while profits rose by $36 million, to $430 million. According to company guidance, revenue at the business jet division is expected to reach about $6.25 billion this year and $8.5 billion next year, largely due to Global 7500 ramp-up and service entry of its upgraded Global 5500 and 6500 later this year.

Meanwhile, a 1.1:1 book-to-bill ratio led to business jet backlog surging by $500 million last year, to $14.3 billion as of December 31. Backlog for the Global 7500 is “exceptionally strong,” said Bombardier Inc. president and CEO Alain Bellemare, with the next available delivery slot now in May 2022.

EASA Advisory Seeks To Prevent Explosive Door Openings

Several occurrences of explosive passenger door openings on parked aircraft resulting in injuries, and even fatalities, to people inside and outside have led the European Aviation Safety Agency to issue a Safety Information Bulletin (SIB) containing recommendations to prevent such incidents. The main factor leading to these occurrences was an inadvertent development of an excessive differential pressure between the inside and the outside of the aircraft.

Crews of business aircraft with bottom-hinged main doors should take special note of this advisory. In fact, EASA singled out the Jan. 5, 2018 accident in Finland when the captain of an Austria-registered Gulfstream G150—a model with a bottom-hinged door—died from injuries sustained when the passenger door blew open as he was trying to open it. While the jet was being readied for flight, the flight attendant was inside with the APU running and cabin heat on. Investigators concluded that the cabin was “over-pressurized” and once the door locking mechanism was released, it “blew open by force, striking the captain.”   

Essentially, the recommendations call on aircraft owners and operators, maintenance personnel, ground handlers, airport operators, and firefighting and other emergency workers to be aware of the risks described in the SIB. In addition, it recommends that training and procedures should include the issue of explosive door openings and their prevention.

Smaller Used Bizav Inventory Yields Fewer Sales in '18

The available worldwide inventory of preowned business aircraft tightened across most sectors and so too did the number of retail transactions in 2018, with the exception of business jets and fixed-wing pistons, according to JetNet’s year-end analysis.

The Utica, New York-based aviation market information specialist found that all segments except piston helicopters experienced a lower inventory for sale at the end of 2018 than 2017. And, with the exception of fixed-wing pistons, the percentage of the in-service fleet for sale is below 10 percent across the board.

The available percentage of business jets for sale declined the most, by 0.9 percent, followed by fixed-wing pistons at 0.8 percent last year, JetNet reported. Meanwhile, the available inventory of turboprops for sale was down by 0.5 percent. In the rotorcraft segment, the percentage of turbines available for sale dipped 0.7 percent, while piston helicopters were the sole increase at 0.3 percent.

Last year, the number of retail fixed-wing piston transactions soared, up 19 percent over 2017. Business jet transactions also improved, but by a more modest 2.1 percent.

But at the same time, transactions of turboprops dipped 2.4 percent in 2018, while those for rotorcraft were also down overall, with turbine sales dropping 8.5 percent and pistons falling by 10.4 percent.

Clay Lacy Debuts New VNY MRO Facility

Los Angeles-area aviation services provider Clay Lacy Aviation has opened a new 24/7 aircraft MRO facility for its Part 145 repair station at Van Nuys Airport. The complex occupies more than seven acres and features a 66,000-sq-ft hangar and 86,000 sq ft of office and shop space, including an expanded parts and rotables department, interior design suite, battery refurbishment center, client offices, and conference room.

It will provide light and heavy maintenance and repair; avionics and cabin entertainment upgrades and installations; cabin design, modifications, and refurbishment; as well as AOG support for the Southwest U.S. Employing more than 70 technicians, the repair station is able to maintain business jets from Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault, and Hawker, and is an authorized service center for the Embraer Phenom 100 and 300.

“We leveraged our 50 years of aviation experience to create the best one-stop aircraft maintenance center in Southern California,” said Ed Mirzakhanian, the company’s vice president for maintenance and business development. “Our new Van Nuys facility can accommodate as many as 15 large-cabin aircraft, and the needs of every client, from general inspections to airframe repair, domestic and international Wi-Fi installations to cabin management systems, and complete interior upgrades.”

Swiss Charter Specialist Vertis Expands to Boston

Vertis Aviation is opening an office in and bringing its charter management program to the Americas, the Switzerland-based broker announced today. Its Americas office will be located in Boston and led by general manager Robert Coleman. The Boston office adds to four in Vertis’s network, including Dubai; Cape Town, South Africa; and Zug, Switzerland.

The announcement of the new office comes on the heels of Vertis receiving confirmation this week as an Argus Certified Broker. According to Argus, Vertis is just one of 11 certified charter brokers. 

“The combination of our new office headed up by Robert, the launch of our Vertis aircraft charter program, and the trust we know customers associate with Argus gives Vertis a powerful springboard from which to dive deeper into the Americas market,” said Vertis CEO Jeffrey Emmenis. “We are successful pioneers of our specific business model in the [Europe, Middle East, and Asia] region, we have an amazing international network of clients, and our Argus certification officially recognizes the standards we’ve been delivering for years. We are really very excited about the opportunities in the Americas.”

Under its charter management program, Vertis markets and arranges charter flights for business aircraft owners and operators. Its portfolio includes two Boeing BBJs, an Airbus ACJ319, two Bombardier Global 6000s, a Gulfstream G450, and a Bombardier Challenger 350.

EASA To Ban Halon Fire Extinguishers in Aircraft

Manufacturers and operators of newly built EASA-certified large airplanes and large helicopters are now required to phase out Halon as a fire extinguishing agent in both portable and lavatory built-in systems. Halon is very effective at extinguishing fire, but it is also considered a pollutant by climate experts.

According to EASA, the aim is to gradually mitigate the environmental impact that Halon extinguishing agents in firefighting equipment have on the ozone and climate, and to progressively achieve a “Halon-free aviation, which balances the environmental concerns with safety-enhancing and cost-efficient rules.”

Under this requirement—new EASA Part 26.170 and 26.400—operators of large airplanes and large helicopters for which the first individual certificate of airworthiness is issued on or after Feb. 18, 2020, shall ensure that the built-in lavatory fire extinguisher does not use Halon. The Halon ban applies to portable extinguishers on aircraft newly certified on or after May 18, 2019.

Although EASA has taken the lead on this ICAO-recommended standard, many other national aviation regulatory authorities have not yet moved to ban Halon. In fact, the FAA requires the use of Halon 1211, or its equivalent, in the passenger cabins of large airplanes. There is no specific extinguishing agent described by the FAA for large helicopters.

ASTM Standardizes Aircraft Landing Calc Terms

The standards-setting organization ASTM International is releasing the first global standard for terminology used in aircraft landing distance calculation methods and assessment. ASTM’s vehicle-pavement system committee (E17) approved the standard, which will soon be published and encompasses 20 terms. Some of the terms have long been in use, but others were introduced to increase accuracy in landing condition reports, ASTM said.

“For the first time in history, terms such as ‘pilot braking action report’ will be formally defined,” said John Gadzinski, president of Four Winds Aerospace Safety and chairman of the aircraft friction subcommittee. “While many of these terms have been in use for decades and are considered essential to commercial aircraft safety, this will be the first time their engineering principles and technical meanings will be precisely articulated.”

ASTM sees the standard benefiting everyone from pilots, operators, airports, to air traffic controllers. In addition, regulators such as the FAA, EASA, and ICAO could further benefit from the standardized safety reporting metric. “This standard will be key in creating professional training programs for pilots so that they will be able to provide reports on braking conditions using a standardized set of principles,” Gadzinski said.

The committee is further working on a standard for measurement and reporting on friction-limited aircraft braking.

Nomad Gets London City Airport Approval for CJ2/3+

Business aircraft management, charter, and maintenance firm Nomad Aviation has been granted approval to operate its Cessna Citation CJ2+ and CJ3+ into London City Airport (LCY). The company was permitted to start operating there from February 1 based on its crews and aircraft complying with the airport's steep approach rules. Both aircraft are operated through Nomad Aviation’s Swiss air operator certificate “and are therefore fully available for charter,” the company added.

“It’s the closest and most convenient airport for easy access to London’s financial district,” said Nomad, which has offices at Zurich-Kloten and Basel in Switzerland, as well as in Sliema, Malta. LCY has a single 4,900-foot east-west runway and requires 5.5-degree approaches and departures for obstacle clearance at both ends.

“London City airport features some of the most restrictive steep approach and noise abatement regulations in aviation,” the company noted. “Flight crews and aircraft require special certification and training to operate [there]. Nomad Aviation’s crews and Cessna Citation CJ1+/CJ2+ aircraft have met these rigorous requirements.”