Dubai-based Vista Global Holdings has agreed to acquire Air Hamburg of Germany in a deal between the two charter operators that is expected to increase Vista’s flight hours by 30 percent and give it a 15 percent share of the global air charter market. The deal will also provide Vista with Air Hamburg Technik, an EASA Part 145 maintenance operation at Baden-Baden Airpark, and a VIP lounge at Hamburg Airport. The acquisition is expected to close by July.
Last year, Air Hamburg organized more than 18,800 flights—making it the largest charter operator in Europe by number of flights—accounting for more than 35,000 flight hours. With more than 650 employees, Air Hamburg operates charter flights to more than 1,000 European destinations with a managed, floating fleet of 44 light, midsize, super-midsize, large-cabin business jets, and bizliners. Aircraft models in its fleet include the Embraer Phenom 300/300E, Legacy 500 and 600/650/650E, Praetor 600, and Lineage 1000E; Dassault Falcon 7X; and Cessna Citation CJ3 and XLS+. Those aircraft will be available to VistaJet and XO customers, bringing Vista’s fleet of mostly Bombardier Challengers and Globals to more than 240 aircraft from a wider array of OEMs.
“Vista’s leading flying solutions, with a business model based on a floating fleet, allows us to implement a quick, seamless integration,” said Vista founder and chairman Thomas Flohr. The acquisition augments its scale and fleet offering across strategic regions, Vista said.
Embraer saw its executive jet deliveries edge up to 93 units in 2021, even as its fourth-quarter results slid year-over-year. Following a pattern that has occurred with many of the business jet makers, Embraer’s totals for executive jet shipments rose by seven units in 2021 up from the 86 shipped a year earlier. But fourth-quarter totals fell four units short of those in the last three months of 2020 when business jet makers were catching up from deliveries delayed earlier in the year as a result of the pandemic.
In the most recent quarter, Embraer delivered 26 light jets—four Phenom 100s and 22 Phenom 300s. This compares with 23 Phenoms shipped in the fourth quarter of 2020, including a single Phenom 100 and 22 Phenom 300s.
During the fourth quarter, the Brazilian manufacturer reported seven fewer shipments, at 13, in its larger aircraft line comprising the Praetor 500 (eight deliveries) and Praetor 600 (five deliveries). A year earlier, when Embraer was completing its transition from the Legacy models to the Praetors, it delivered a single Legacy 500, six Praetor 500s, and 13 Praetor 600s—a total of 20 aircraft.
Last year, Embraer delivered 62 Phenoms and 31 Praetors, compared with 56 Phenoms and 30 Legacy/Praetors in 2020.
Two helicopter crashes on Saturday—one in California and one in Florida—have gone viral on social media.
Huntington Beach, California police officer Nicholas Vellas, serving as the tactical flight officer, was killed and the pilot survived when the department’s Notar-equipped 1998 MD Helicopters 520N, HB1, crashed in shallow water between Lido Isle and the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Bay. The accident occurred just after 6:30 p.m. local time. Surveillance video of the crash broadcast by a local television station shows the helicopter in a nose-down attitude and rapidly spinning in a manner that suggests a loss of anti-torque authority. The NTSB said the pilot had issued a distress call shortly before the crash, alluding to mechanical difficulty.
In the Florida crash, surveillance video posted to Twitter by the Miami police showed a black Robinson R44 Raven 1 apparently autorotating into the surf less than 50 yards from a large group of swimmers off Miami’s crowded South Beach at 1:10 p.m. local time. The flight originated at the North Perry-Hollywood airport (KHWO) and is believed to have been an aerial sightseeing mission with a pilot and two passengers. The pilot is reported to be in good condition while the passengers are said to have suffered broken backs.
A Satcom Direct-developed terminal for the Inmarsat Jet ConneX broadband service has moved a step closer to commercial service after successfully communicating over the air with an Inmarsat satellite, the companies announced late last week. Meanwhile, a complete prototype unit of Satcom Direct’s Plane Simple Ka-band antenna system is scheduled for completion later this year, followed by design verification, testing, certification, and commercial service introduction in 2023.
Satcom Direct’s Plane Simple antenna system provides in-flight Wi-Fi for super-midsize to large-cabin business jets using Inmarsat’s current and upcoming Ka-band satellites. The tail-mounted terminal is a lightweight design with two line-replaceable units and simplified wiring, enabling quicker and easier installation and maintenance.
“Moving to the next phase of development with our new Plane Simple Ka-band antenna system for Inmarsat’s Jet ConneX—and being one step closer to securing type approval for use on the Inmarsat satellite network—is a huge step forward for our business and for business aviation,” said Satcom Direct founder and CEO Jim Jensen.
Kai Tang, Inmarsat’s head of business aviation, noted that his company will launch six more Ka-band satellites over the coming years. Four will be in geostationary orbit, adding speed, capacity, and resilience, while two will be placed in a highly elliptical orbit to enable airborne broadband service for aircraft flying in higher elevations and over the Arctic.
The Air Charter Association (ACA) held the second installment of its in-person Air Charter Broker Qualification training on February 9 with 36 delegates attending and a pass rate of 94 percent achieved among them. It’s the first in-person Level 2 course held by ACA after the qualification training was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Level 2 course is one of three courses required for aviation professionals to achieve the Qualified Air Charter Broker designation.
In a break from the norm, the Level 2 course was held at the Harrods Aviation FBO lounge. The location allowed delegates an “airside experience” with tours of Titan Airways’ engineering hangar, cargo aircraft, and a recently delivered all-business-class Airbus A321neo. Delegates also were introduced to aircraft handling equipment and the capabilities of Harrods’s private terminal.
“It was a refreshing change to get out of the traditional classroom and office environments, to enable our attendees to see first-hand how flights are operated behind the scenes, what happens at the airport, FBO, and in-flight operations,” said ACA deputy chair and course co-presenter Julie Black. “It was a great introduction to the next level in our Air Charter Broker Qualification and I am really looking forward to seeing delegates complete our Level 3 course in April to gain their full qualification.”
Los Angeles-area business aviation hub Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) will break ground this month on a major runway project. Its 4,000-foot Runway 16L will be closed for more than five months due to reconstruction along its entire length. Additional improvements will include upgrades to runway lighting, surface markings, and addition of jet blast pads.
During the process, all operations will be directed to 8,000-foot Runway 16R, which will have a minimum of two connector taxiways available at all times. Following the conclusion of work on 16L, 16R will undergo rehabilitation, including the resurfacing of the asphalt and associated taxiway connectors, along with refreshing surface markings and switching the lighting to LED fixtures.
The $13.1 million project, which is expected to be completed by the end of November, is the latest improvement at KVNY following major construction on its taxiways that concluded last year.
“As one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country, KVNY and its tenants will benefit from these runway improvements that will enhance operations, safety, and our facilities,” said Justin Erbacci, CEO of Los Angeles World Airports, which owns and operates the airport. “The project design, phasing, and construction will maximize federal grants while minimizing disruption to ongoing operations.”
Citing the potential for 5G C-band interference, two helicopter operators have filed petitions for an exemption to the FAA requirement for functioning onboard radar altimeters for flight training and night firefighting operations. The petitions follow a similar and successful petition filed by the Helicopter Association International on behalf of helicopter air ambulance operators.
Longhorn Helicopters, dba the Helicopter Institute, is seeking relief from the requirements of 14 CFR Sec. 91.205(h)(7) and 91.9(a) to allow it to use night vision goggles for flight training of Part 135 helicopter operators including helicopter air ambulance operators, FAA safety inspectors, and law enforcement entities, with radar altimeters that are not functioning normally due to interference from wireless broadband 5G C-Band emissions.
Similarly, Columbia Helicopters has filed for an exemption to conduct night firefighting operations using night-vision goggles and for pilot training for Part 135 helicopter operations conducted under a Department of Defense contract, as well as pilot training for FAA safety inspectors, with radar altimeters that are not functioning normally due to 5G C-band interference.
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Charter operator Thrive Aviation has placed an order for a Gulfstream G600 set to deliver in the third quarter, marking a new relationship between the Savannah, Georgia-based airframer and the Las Vegas-based Part 135 operator’s move into long-range business jets. “We're not only thrilled about our new relationship with Gulfstream but also elated to bring yet another option to our clients and partners in a market that is starving for inventory,” said Thrive CEO Curtis Edenfield.
The announcement comes as Thrive is set to expand its super-midsize fleet with the order of three additional Cessna Citation Longitudes expected to be delivered in the first and second quarters. The addition of the G600 will bring its owned and managed fleet to 18. “Our entry into this new aircraft class and our blossoming partnership with Gulfstream is a testament to what we're building here at Thrive,” Edenfield added.
Thrive’s existing owned and managed fleet comprises the Citation Longitude, Sovereign+, XLS+, CJ3+, and M2, as well as the Dassault Falcon 2000.
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