The business aviation industry finished last year on a mainly positive note, according to Global Jet Capital (GJC), which remains broadly optimistic about prospects for 2024 in its latest assessment of the market. However, according to the finance and leasing group's just published Q4 Business Aviation Market Brief, 2023 did not measure up to the rapid expansion that took place in 2021 and 2022, as “flight operations and transactions declined while inventory increased and values softened.” 

During the fourth quarter of last year, GJC reported, business aircraft flight operations declined by 0.9 percent year over year. That said, while operations were lower in the U.S. and Europe, elsewhere they climbed, "demonstrating strong global demand for business aviation.” Those numbers, however, are still higher than pre-Covid levels, up 17 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2019 and up 15.1 percent for 2023 compared with full-year 2019. 

“It was widely expected that many of the new users of business aviation would return to commercial airlines as the world normalized,” the company said. “However, due to the industry’s inherent value proposition—including personal safety, flexibility, productivity, and comfort—a substantial proportion of new users continued to utilize business aviation in 2023, demonstrating a systemic expansion of the user base.”

Leasing group LCI may consider offering bundled leases covering new eVTOL aircraft and related infrastructure such as batteries and electric and hydrogen charging stations. Chief commercial officer Nigel Leishman told AIN the company is now exploring the "value proposition" for operators launching advanced air mobility services.

“From LCI’s perspective, we could see a situation where you package the aircraft with the batteries and charging infrastructure to provide a turnkey solution to operators,” he said.

LCI already has signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) backed by deposits with two eVTOL aircraft developers for 165 units. These commitments include 125 of Beta Technologies' Alia-250 aircraft and 40 Chaparral autonomous cargo delivery aircraft from Elroy Air.

However, the company has not negotiated leases with any potential end-users of the aircraft since they are not yet certified. “It’s very hard to put together agreements when you don’t know what the final aircraft actually looks like,” Leishman said.

According to Leishman, LCI was attracted to those aircraft in particular because they were not exclusively aimed at the passenger market, but also could be utilized for other missions such as emergency medical flights and logistics. More than 50 percent of LCI’s current helicopter fleet serves the air ambulance market, so Leishman sees a built-in customer base there. He said LCI also found the logistics market, which could be served by the Chaparral aircraft, attractive.

The FAA blamed Boeing for a deficient safety culture in a 50-page report issued on Monday following a public outcry over several safety lapses before the January 5 incident in which a door plug “blew out” from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 in mid-flight.

In a review of the employment culture at the company, an expert panel found what it called gaps in Boeing’s safety journey and that a majority of employees did not show “skillful awareness” of the concepts of just culture and reporting culture.

The panel further reported that it could not find a “consistent and clear” safety reporting channel or process within the business unit. It also noted that employees do not understand how to use the different reporting systems and which reporting system to use and when. The panel expressed concern that the confusion might discourage employees from reporting what they see as safety problems.

The report concluded that, although Boeing previously provided a roadmap to implement an Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) and safety management systems (SMS), the airframer still hadn’t completed the changes described in the roadmap.

The report recommended that Boeing develop an action plan that includes a “milestone-based” approach to address each recommendation and share the results with the FAA.

Training beyond the minimums is becoming increasingly encouraged and standardized across business aviation. This equates to good news for all facets of the industry, as safety remains the critical axis on which our success revolves. Achieving necessary and effective balance surrounding safe flight narrows down to one thing: pilot training. 

Global aeromedical services provider Aircare International has launched a trade-in program for aircraft operators with outdated remote diagnostic units.

Operators with unsupported equipment can now swap them at a discount for the latest Aircare Remote Viewing Station (RVS), a lightweight, easy-to-use system that utilizes encrypted video and diagnostic data during inflight medical emergencies. The RVS uses off-the-shelf diagnostic tools and communicates via an intuitive software dashboard.

Supported by the company’s Aircare Access Assistance telemedicine and medical kit division, the new unit will provide the tools and connectivity physicians require to help diagnose and treat medical situations anytime, anywhere.

“We’ve had multiple flight departments reach out to us about replacing their outdated or unsupported diagnostic devices with the Aircare RVS,” explained Karl Kamps, v-p of operations for Aircare Access Assistance. “As one of our flagship products, the Aircare RVS is well-equipped to provide 24/7/365 in-flight medical support through secure video, audio, and chat functions with our physicians.”

The FAA has issued an information for operators (InFo 24003) document to remind Part 135 air taxi and commuter operators of the flight data recorder (FDR) equipage requirements specific to passenger seating configuration. “Recent inquiries to the FAA aircraft maintenance division has revealed confusion related to seating configurations and FDR installations,” according to the InFo.

Under Part 135.152 multi-engine, turbine airplanes and rotorcraft having a “passenger seating configuration” of 10 to 30 passenger seats must be equipped with an FDR that retains no fewer than 25 hours of aircraft operation.

A 2008 FAA legal interpretation found Part 135.152 means “the actual number of seats installed.” That seating cannot be reduced by “placard, blocking seats or removing seat belts” to avoid the applicability of the regulation. “Any supplemental type certificate that does not physically remove seats to a specified number of installed seats with the intent to meet an operating rule will not relieve the operator from any applicable operating rule,” clarifies the InFo.

The InFo advises operators’ directors of maintenance (DOM) to review their aircraft seating configurations to verify compliance with Part 135.152. “When DOMs evaluate the aircraft seating configuration and FDR parameters being recorded, they must, per Part 135.152(j), pay attention to the aircraft date of manufacture and the date when it was added to Operations Specifications.” Part 135.152(j) pertains to aircraft manufactured after Aug. 19, 2002.

Eola Group has purchased a minority stake in Luxaviation Group subsidiary Starspeed, which manages helicopters in the UK. Eola also offers helicopter management services as well as maintenance and charter, and it has two subsidiaries: Monacair in Monaco and Héli Sécurité in France.

Starspeed offers helicopter pilot training as well as charter services in the Isles of Scilly. It has been in business for 45 years and said it has “operated over 22 types and models of helicopters across more than 65 countries.”

The acquisition of the stake in Starspeed will enable Eola to establish a UK presence, according to the company, which plans to expand further in Europe and add more management services for customers.

“The increasing demand for helicopters, particularly in the business travel and rapidly emerging tourism sector, is largely driven by travelers seeking a safe and efficient means to minimize time-consuming journeys between destinations,” said Patrick Hansen, CEO of Luxaviation Group. “Thanks to Luxaviation Group and Starspeed’s extensive experience, and Eola Group’s skillful expertise in highly secure flights, we aim to bring helicopters to the forefront of business travel in Europe and the world.”