Bombardier’s Biggin Hill Service Center To Get Bigger

Bombardier will build a larger service center at London Biggin Hill (BQH) to replace its existing hangars there, the Montreal-based airframer announced today. At nearly 250,000 sq ft (23,225 sq m), the new service center is expected to be operational by mid-2022.

“With the expansion of the London Biggin Hill service center, Bombardier is taking another step in showing its unwavering commitment to providing customers with industry-leading services on a global scale, and the OEM expertise they rightfully deserve,” said Bombardier Aviation customer experience v-p and general manager Jean-Christophe Gallagher. “Europe continues to be a strong market for business aviation, and we’re glad to show our commitment to our customers with this important investment in the region.”

The new center will offer requested capabilities such as component painting and interior refurbishment, component repair and overhaul workshops, and training rooms. It will have capacity to hold up to 14 Global 7500s simultaneously and also include a new parts depot. Employment at the new center is expected to swell to more than 250 employees over several years.

First opened in 2017, Bombardier’s service center at BQH offers tip-to-tail heavy maintenance on its Learjet, Challenger, and Global business jets. Last year, it added enhanced interior repair and refurbishment.

Analysts React To Report of Textron-Bombardier Combo

Equity analysts offered their reasons why a Wall Street Journal report published yesterday that Textron is in talks with Bombardier to buy the Canadian airframer’s business jet unit could be valid. For their part, spokesmen from Bombardier and Textron declined to comment on the report that the companies have been talking for several weeks about Textron acquiring Bombardier’s Learjet, Challenger, and Global product lines.

Citi analyst Jonathan Raviv yesterday wrote that “a BBD [Bombardier] deal could be accretive” for Textron as was the case with its 2013 acquisition of Hawker Beechcraft, which contributed more than nine times Hawker Beechcraft’s trailing 12-month earnings to Textron (TXT). “We think that it’s fair to think that these sorts of returns would prompt TXT to transact,” Raviv wrote, adding that it would likely boost Textron shares that have been trading at a discount for some time.

Likewise, Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu wrote that such a deal could be as much as 21 percent accretive to Texton’s earnings. It also serves to consolidate an industry with lots of competitors and little growth in recent years. “The business jet market includes seven major OEMs and given the market deliveries have been stagnant around the 650 unit mark, consolidation has always been a possibility,” Kahyaoglu wrote.

FBOs Reap Big Game Bounty

Super Bowl LIV on Sunday in Miami resulted in a win not only for the Kansas City Chiefs, but also for the local FBOs due to the event’s customary influx of business aircraft. Signature Flight Support noted the bulk of its game-related traffic was at Miami International (MIA), which saw 290 arrivals; 130 arrivals at Miami Opa-locka Executive (OPF); and another 70 throughout its other area locations such as Miami Executive (TMB) and Fort Lauderdale International (FLL) Airports. Reliance Aviation at TMB hosted 40 aircraft on its ramp during the weekend.

At FLL, Sheltair counted more than 300 movements during the slot period (Wednesday, January 29, to Monday, February 3) and Jetscape hosted 72 aircraft—predominantly large business jets—during that period as well.

At nearby Fort Lauderdale Executive (FXE), Banyan Air Service saw 800 operations Friday-through-Monday, with a peak of 140 aircraft (mostly jets) on the ground. Atlantic Aviation reported handling more than 400 aircraft at its OPF and Boca Raton (BCT) locations during the implementation of the PPR slot system, with an additional 350 (mostly jets) at its Palm Beach International (PBI) and Stuart Witham Field (SUA) locations, which also experienced an influx of Super Bowl-related traffic.

Fontainebleau Aviation at OPF said it received 250 arrivals with an average of seven passengers per aircraft and sold approximately 200,000 gallons of jet-A through Monday.

Honeywell Outlook Calls For Meager Helo Delivery Bump

Total helicopter deliveries will increase slightly to 4,100 units between 2020 and 2024 while overall purchase plans slip slightly in the same period, according to Honeywell’s 22nd annual Turbine-Powered Civil Helicopter Purchase Outlook. This year’s forecast, released today, expects about 100 more helicopter deliveries over the five-year period compared with the 2019 forecast. The three top factors operators consider when making a new helicopter purchase are brand experience, aircraft performance, and cabin size, according to the forecast.

Between mid-October and mid-December, Honeywell surveyed more than 1,000 chief pilots and flight department managers of companies operating 3,559 turbine and 282 piston helicopters worldwide for the forecast. Higher utilization expectations by survey respondents stood out in particular in North America and Europe. 

Increased deliveries over the next five years will be supported by new models, including the Airbus H160, Bell 525 Relentless, Kopter SH09, and Leonardo AW109 Trekker, Honeywell Aerospace senior manager of market research Gaetan Handfield told AIN. 

While overall purchase plans are down 0.8 percent compared with last year’s forecast, they vary—some substantially—by region. Europe, Latin America, and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are the only regions of the forecast’s six regions where purchase plans increased. North America, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa saw a decrease in purchase plans.

PE Firm Takes Majority Interest in Elliott Aviation

Private equity firm Summit Park on Friday acquired a majority interest in Moline, Illinois-based business aviation FBO/MRO provider Elliott Aviation. Aircraft sales and brokerage subsidiary Elliott Jets and manufacturing arm Elliott Technologies were included in the deal.

No financial details of the transaction were disclosed. Wynn Elliott, former chairman of Elliott Aviation, retains a minority share of the company. Greg Sahr has taken over for Wynn Elliott as CEO of the company.

Founded by Herb Elliott in 1936, the FBO/MRO chain provides aircraft maintenance, avionics, paint, interior, parts, accessories, FBO services, and appraisals for midsize jets and turboprops. The company is also Garmin’s top aviation retrofitter. Besides its headquarters in Moline, Elliott has facilities in Des Moines, Iowa, and Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

“Elliott Aviation has a long-standing reputation for providing first-class service to the business aviation industry,” said Summit Park co-founder Bob Calton. “Given Elliott’s rich legacy as a family-owned business, we are pleased that Wynn Elliott will retain an ownership position in Elliott.”

Elliott Aviation is an authorized service facility for Beechjet 400A/400XPs, as well as King Air, Hawker, Premier, and TBM models. Additionally, it holds authorized service center status for Embraer Phenoms and Legacy 450/500s, and is a Part 145 repair station for Bombardier Learjet and Challenger, Cessna Citation, and Dassault Falcon jets.

Bombardier’s Coleal Bullish on Bizav

Bombardier has painted an optimistic picture for business aviation over the next 10 years, with more wealthy people in the world “who can avail themselves of business aviation” with the focus firmly in the large cabin jets. But it also points to serious headwinds.

Speaking at Corporate Jet Investor (CJI) London on Monday, Bombardier Aviation president David Coleal noted forecasts that around 7,000 business aircraft will be delivered over the next decade, 28 percent up on the previous similar period. He said the large-cabin jet fleet is expected to grow by 52 percent between now and 2028, while the midsize jet fleet would expand by 14 percent and light jets by 22 percent.

But Coleal said that there were “three distinct questions” for the industry in that time frame: will the market grow meaningfully; will disruptive technology act to enhance the sector (e.g. eVTOLs); and what effect will the climate change debate have as it moves to the top of the agenda?

A discussion panel at the CJI event highlighted the need for better communicating that business aviation represents a minute proportion of global CO₂ emissions, while offering economic benefits due to its flexibility, versatility, and reach. Delegates also called for wider adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by the industry as a whole.

Gulf Coast Upgrades King Air with Garmin G600 TXi Panel

Gulf Coast Avionics has completed its first dual Garmin G600 TXi touchscreen avionics upgrade on a Beechcraft King Air B200, the Lakeland, Florida company announced earlier this week. “King Airs are unquestionably the most popular turboprops, and Garmin provides the most capable touchscreen displays. When we put them both together, we create an airplane that will deliver unmatched capabilities, efficiency, reliability, and safety,” said Gulf Coast Avionics president and CEO Rick Garcia.

The installation on the 1993-era airplane included dual 10.6-inch G600 TXi displays, dual GTN 750 GPS navcoms, GMA 35c remote audio panel, GTX 345 ADS-B Out/In transponder, GDL 69A XM Weather datalink receiver, and GSB 15 USB power ports from Garmin, as well as a Mid-Continent MD302 standby attitude module. Gulf Coast also incorporated integration solutions for the existing Rockwell Collins APS-65 autopilot and BendixKing RDR-2000 weather radar.

Besides the advanced features offered by the upgrade, Gulf Coast Avionics sales manager Matt Schloss said it also significantly increased reliability of the avionics and resulted in a “considerable reduction” in the aircraft's gross weight. The latter will allow the EMS operator to carry more medical equipment on board, he added.

FAA Proposes ‘Special Class’ for Delivery Drones

The FAA is seeking public comment on a proposal to certify drone delivery UAS as a “special class” of aircraft under FAR 21.17(b). The agency said this did not preclude type certifying these aircraft under FAR 21.17(a) “when appropriate.” It will also “announce and seek public comment on the particularized airworthiness criteria for each applicant as certification standards for this new special class evolve” and will “issue rulemaking or publish standards as guidance in an advisory circular” once generally-applicable standards are identified.

According to the FAA, this policy is consistent with its handling of certification of other special classes of aircraft including gliders, airships, and very light airplanes. The FAA said the special class designation for UAS is appropriate as these aircraft contain “the very unique, novel, and/or unusual features the special class category was designed to accommodate” such as launch and recovery systems and unique “configurations and applications of airframes, powerplants, fuels, and materials are possible and can result in flight characteristics different from those of conventional aircraft.”  

Comments are due by March 4.